Vodacom failed in a bid in the high court in Johannesburg to have the “Please call me” case scrapped, Business Report said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the court denied an attempt by Vodacom to have the case set aside, and it was expected to resume this week.
Former Vodacom employee Nkosana Makate claims he invented the “Please call me” service in 2000. He said his boss at the time, Philip Geissler, promised in an oral agreement to facilitate remuneration negotiations with the company.
Geissler submitted the idea and said he would negotiate remuneration between Makate and Vodacom once it was developed and the technical and commercial feasibility was ascertained, according to the report.
Makate wants the court to compel Vodacom to discuss a reasonable compensation and first approached the high court in 2008, after he sent letters to Vodacom in 2007.
According to the report, Vodacom does not compensate employees for their ideas above normal remuneration. — Sapa