People often dismiss an employee without following due process. An employee stole from the employer and the employer caught them red-handed and fired the employee on the spot. Demanded that they leave the premises immediately. The employee has laid a grievance against the employer at the CCMA for not following procedure and now the employer must pay the employee a settlement. Sounds unfair? It isn’t.
The following is the correct procedure:
- Confront the employee in the presence of a witness and demand an explanation.
- Produce a letter of suspension. You can’t trust the employee and therefore they must leave and only return for a hearing. If the employee refuses to sign the letter of suspension the witness must sign a statement on the suspension document that indicates that they witnessed that the employee was informed of the suspension and that the employee refused to sign.
- Present the employee with a notification to attend a hearing. The notice has to contain the charge of theft; the date and time of the offense; the date and time of the hearing; venue of the hearing. Again, if the employee refuses to sign the receipt of the notice of the hearing, the witness should sign a paragraph at the bottom of the notice to appear in a hearing that indicates that they witnessed that the employee was notified of the hearing.
- The hearing has to be conducted by an impartial chairperson who should prepare a hearing pack that contains written statements from the employer, the employee, and witnesses, and evidence. The chairperson will listen to all testimonies and view all evidence and ask questions. The chairperson will then decide and if sufficient evidence is presented, the employee will be dismissed.
- Should the employee go to CCMA, the employer can prove that they followed due process and that the employee was dismissed fairly.
For more information or assistance with disciplinary action please contact me at elsabe@elsabemanning.co.za.
Elsabé Manning, HR & IR CONSULTANT, SUCCESS FACTORY, 082 513 6312