The chairperson of a disciplinary enquiry is tasked with establishing whether the accused is guilty of the misconduct with which he or she is charged and, if found guilty, is tasked with imposing a sanction appropriate in the circumstances.  In criminal proceedings, this decision is made in two distinct phases.  This separation, the courts have […]

After both the complainant and the accused have put forward their versions, led evidence and cross examined witnesses, the chairperson of the disciplinary enquiry will call for closing arguments (sometimes called closing statements).  This step is very often misunderstood by the parties.  It is very common when we chair disciplinary enquiries to see a confused […]

During the course of a disciplinary enquiry, once the preliminary issues have been dealt with, the accused has pleaded and the chairperson has heard the complainant’s opening statement, it will come time to lead evidence through witness testimony.  The questions that a party puts to his or her own witnesses are asked in a certain […]

Essentially, a case should be presented to the chairperson of a disciplinary enquiry in 3 stages: Opening statement Examination in chief of witnesses and presentation of other evidence Closing statement The above stages are the same whether you are acting as the complainant/initiator for the company, or whether you are the accused in the disciplinary […]

Item 4(2) of the Labour Relations Act’s Code Of Good Practice: Dismissal states: “Discipline against a trade union representative or an employee who is an office-bearer or official of a trade union should not be instituted without first informing and consulting the trade union.” It is envisioned that the consultations that take place are intended […]

It’s important for the parties to be properly prepared for the disciplinary enquiry.  Central to this is for you to understand your role and objective in the enquiry, whether you are acting for the company as the complainant (often referred to as initiator), or acting in defence of yourself, as the accused employee.  Shop stewards […]

If an employee has committed gross misconduct or if he or she has not corrected his or her actions after having received warnings for lesser misconduct, management may form the view that termination of the employee’s services ought to be considered.  If this is the case, the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 requires that […]

Know how to issue a notice fairly to avoid any comebacks at the CCMA When extremely serious misconduct has occurred, or where previous attempts by the employer to correct an employee’s behaviour have failed, management may be of the view that an employee’s services with the company must be terminated.  In a previous article, we […]

Final written warnings are, as the name suggests, the final warning that an employee should be given before having his or her employment terminated. It is the last (or only, if the misconduct committed is serious) opportunity that the employee has to correct his or her behaviour. For this reason, final written warnings should not […]

In my last post, we covered verbal warnings and how to issue one. We explained that there are informal and formal verbal (or oral) warnings, the difference being that a formal verbal warning is reduced to writing and a record of its issue is therefore kept.  A written warning is a more severe step in […]