Today’s date? 25 September 2025. Has the world ended? No.

According to a trainee accountant from KPMG South Africa, the world was going to be caught up in the "Rapture” that was set to take place from 23 – 24 September 2025. The trainee went viral after she sent a mass internal email to colleagues worldwide, warning of the “Rapture” and urging Christians to get ready. The email included a 173-page PDF detailing the apocalyptic predictions. Unsurprisingly, this internal email leaked and led to the social media accounts of this trainee accountant going viral.

Consequently, KPMG South Africa issued a statement confirming that the email was sent without authorisation. The statement went on to explain:

KPMG in South Africa is aware of an unauthorised internal email that was circulated and has taken immediate steps to address the matter. The content does not reflect the firm’s values. We remain committed to fostering a respectful and inclusive workplace for all.

Many may be wondering what necessitated KPMG’s response given that the email was internal and the content of which being an employee’s personal views. The big deal is this:

i. The internal email was sent to the worldwide database of KPMG, without authorization.

ii. Gleaned from KPMG’s statement, it appears that portions of the email platformed discriminatory content, namely Islamophobia.

iii. The leaking of the email to social media platforms cast aspersions on KPMG’s stance in respect of the content of the email, as well as the content posted by the trainee accountant on her social media platforms.

With the constitutional rights to freedom of religion, belief and opinion and freedom of expression , comes responsibilities – the freedoms are not unfettered. This is all the more important to remember in the workplace. Employees have the right to hold personal views, however, that right does not extend to platforming discriminatory content and moreover using their employer’s resources to do so. These unfortunate incidents can happen in any workplace and when such occurs, employers are within their rights to take the necessary steps to protect the rights of other employees not to be discriminated against, as well as protect their reputation from being disparaged on social media.

It is important that employers have clear and consistent policies that deal with such situations to ensure that personal biases and discriminatory views are not platformed in the workplace.

For assistance with the drafting and reviewing of workplace policies, contact either Verlie Oosthuizen or Unathi Dlamini