Still in the game: Wesley Neumann awaits his appeal outcome

Former Heathfield High School principal Wesley Neumann has not given up just yet following a decision by the Labour Court of South Africa of dismissing his application for reinstatement order as principal and said he will wait on the appeal outcome.

Neumann had made an enforcement application to compel the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) to follow the Labour Court's decision in January to reinstate him.

In a response to the Court’s findings, Neumann via his lawyer, Vernon Seymour said he accepted the order made but would wait for the conclusion of the appeal and that he has been left disappointed.

“Mr. Neumann accepts the Court’s ruling that he must wait until the conclusion of the appeals processes before he can return to school. After a 5-year wait for justice, he is naturally disappointed because he was looking forward to get back into the classroom and get on with the business of teaching and learning,” said the statement shared via Seymour.

“We realise that the school community of Heathfield High will also be disappointed by this ruling because they were also hoping for a positive outcome and an end to this saga.

"They want Heathfield High School to be the vibrant school, with lots of extra-mural activities (including a jazz band), it once was, while Wesley Neumann was its principal, as testified by one of the learners at the trial.

"In court papers the current SGB Chairperson did not support the WECD narrative about the state of affairs at the school, and has also expressed her desire that things should return to normality at Heathfield High School. 

“She was also hoping for the implementation of the re- instatement order, like many parents at the school.”

Seymour added that the ruling does not in any way impact on the labour court’s decision to overturn his unfair dismissal and that he be re-instated as principal of Heathfield High School. 

“The reinstatement decision was contained in a 54-page detailed and well-reasoned judgement,” the statement said.

“We are confident that the appeal of WCED has no prospects of success and will in all likelihood to fail. We trust that when that happens WCED will in the same way accept the Court’s appeal ruling, like Mr. Neumann is doing on this occasion, and will not waste any more taxpayer money on speculative further appeals.”

The court ruling, which emerged on February 20, follows a series of legal tussles that have sparked significant public interest and community debate.

Cape Argus also approached Neumann for comment on the court’s decision to which he diverted all questions to Seymour.

Good Party, which he is also a council member, also referred questions to Seymour and later issued a same statement.

Neumann, who was terminated from his role in May 2022 on allegations of misconduct including insubordination and breach of the school’s social media policy, was initially reinstated in January 2026, although his reinstatement was swiftly challenged by the (WCED). 

MEC for Education David Maynier said it was tax payers money wasted: "The Labour Court has put the best interests of the learners of Heathfield High School first, and dismissed Wesley Neumann’s application to return to the school as principal pending further Court proceedings.

"We have filed an application for leave to appeal the Labour Court judgment delivered in January 2026, and in terms of section 18(1) of the Superior Courts Act, the order to reinstate Wesley Neumann as principal is suspended. He applied for an exception to this rule, which the Court has dismissed, stating: "There is nothing unusual, extraordinary, or unique about this case that warrants departing from the general rule that an appeal suspends the operation of a judgment. For that reason alone, the application must fail."

”The Court further stated: “The applicant’s public interest argument or public support and/or sentiment does not advance the applicant’s case in any respect. Such considerations belong in the realm of politics, not in a judicial assessment of disputes and section 18 application. The fact that some members of the public or the school community support him merely reflects his popularity, not any legal basis for exceptional circumstances.”

Maynier added that the Court also found that not only had Wesley Neumann failed to provide evidence of irreparable harm to himself, he had also provided no evidence that the WCED would not suffer irreparable harm.

He said the Court stated: “The applicant cannot credibly claim financial ruin when he earns R579 132.00 per annum, which is more than R48 200.00 per month.” In addition, his supporters have stated in their own communication to the media that should he return to Heathfield High School, “there is a risk that the school could potentially be disrupted by supporters and actions of the community at large”.

According to court papers shared with the Cape Argus, the Court found that Neumann failed to plead any facts constituting exceptional circumstances in his founding affidavit.

Finding on Irreparable Harm: Neumann claimed financial ruin and inability to pay legal fees. The Court rejected this, noting he earns R579,132.00 per annum as a part-time councillor. The Court found he failed to show why retrospective reinstatement and backpay, if the appeal fails, would not constitute substantive and meaningful relief. He also failed to provide evidence that the WCED would not suffer irreparable harm (e.g., disruption due to his temporary return while a principal is in place).Conclusion: Neumann failed to satisfy the test under section 18 of the SC Act. Order: 

The application is dismissed with no order as to costs.

In another section of the court's findings, it stated: "The applicant also raises concerns about delays in the process. However, ifdelays in previous proceedings or in the anticipated appeal process were, ontheir own, sufficient to amount to exceptional circumstances, section 18 wouldlose its meaning, and the right to appeal would be undermined.

"The applicant’sreliance on Incubeta12 is misplaced because that case involved a restraint oftrade dispute, where immediate enforcement is crucial given the restraint periodand time-sensitive nature of such orders. In contrast, unfair dismissal matters donot carry the same time-sensitivity, and the applicant has not explained why hewould be deprived of meaningful or substantial relief if execution is refused.

"If the appeal ultimately fails, he will be reinstated with full retrospective benefits per thej udgment of January 5 2026, with his years of service intact and he will be entitled to his arrear wages until the date of the actual wages."

In an earlier response to the WCED’s objections for his reinstatement, Neumann contended that his current part-time role as a city councillor does not provide the financial security.

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