A Soweto woman has been left angered after she was "fired" from her job for refusing to cut off her dreadlocks, which "posed as a safety hazard to her colleagues".

Matshidiso Matabane, 23, claimed she was told not to return to her job as a quality assurance officer at South African Breweries (SAB) plants until she cut her hair.

The mother of a two-year-old yesterday told Sowetan she had been employed for three years at CND Commodities, which is contracted to SAB.

"I have had my dreadlocks for six years and I started working for that company in 2016. It's shocking that after all this time my boss only came to me on March 15 and told me that I should not come back to work if I don't cut off my dreads because they pose a safety hazard," she said.

In a WhatsApp conversation between Matabane and Chintz Bana, the owner of the CND Commodities, Matabane asked Bana whether she was to stay away from work for a week or permanently as a result of her hair.

Bana responded by saying that Matabane could not work because she was a safety hazard to her colleagues.

Bana yesterday told Sowetan Matabane was not fired and that he informed her about a new policy implemented by SAB that did not allow employees to have hairstyles that posed danger.

"She and two other colleagues were told that their hair was a safety issue in the environment they work in.

"The hard hats they wear do not sit well on their heads. There was a directive from SAB that said that people with dreadlocks cannot work in the plants," Bana said.

"I informed them about this and two of them decided that they won't cut their hair. CND is contracted by SAB; if SAB says that they do not allow for employees to have dreadlocks I have to comply with them but I want to make it clear that they were not fired."

SAB spokesperson Refilwe Masemola said they would investigate. "SAB has a safety policy in place to minimise the risk of injury to all, as well as to maintain hygiene and prevent product contamination, that may be caused by items such as jewellery, hair, clothes."