Latest Articles
Hearsay evidence is admissible at times
Hearsay evidence is, in the main, inadmissible, and is best described as evidence tendered by an individual who relays evidence which s/he did not personally witness with his/her own eyes or senses, but heard from someone else. It is with good reason that hearsay...
Equal pay for equal value judgment
One of the most eye-catching amendments to recent amendments to labour legislation was the enactment of section 6(4) of the Employment Equity Act, which provides for equal pay for equal value. The Draft Code of Good Practice on Equal Pay for Equal Value states that...
Hearing charge sheets are often faulty
Employers frequently complete disciplinary hearing charge sheets poorly without, for example, properly outlining the specific components of the allegations being levelled against an employee. Predictably, the entire disciplinary hearing process becomes contaminated...
Habitual poor time keeping warrants dismissal
Punctuality is a basic fundamental employment obligation. It’s taken as a given that when an employee enters into an employment contract with an employer, the employee is able to attend work on time. Two of the most basic of common law employment obligations which...
Employees may be required to attend disciplinary hearings even if booked off sick
Many employers will have been frustrated at times by employees presenting medical certificates covering the day or days on which the employee is required to attend a disciplinary hearing. It is of course quite possible that the employee is genuinely ill, and must be...
Arbitration costs awards are rare
It’s rare for a winning party to win costs in a CCMA or Bargaining Council arbitration case. Section 138(10) of the Labour Relations Act makes limited provision for costs to be awarded in favour of a party to an arbitration hearing. In short, costs may be awarded...
CCMA should heed criticism
The CCMA has been on the receiving end of some sharp criticism of late, which it has predictably elected to respond to defensively with a degree of self-righteous indignation. Let me say up front, the very role of the CCMA in workplace dispute resolution places it in...
Attempted theft from employers is an unfortunate scourge
It is hard to argue with employers who frequently cynically lament that certain employees are so willing to so readily steal, or attempt to steal, from them. There may indeed be a myriad of socio-economic reasons for this scourge. None the less, it must surely be...
Beware the office party mayhem
It’s that time of year again when office parties are in full swing. Whilst most office parties are incident free, some can be notoriously memorable for all the wrong reasons. Let’s face it, with spirits running high and alcohol flowing, you frequently have the...
Circumstantial evidence revisited
Circumstantial evidence is indeed admissible in disciplinary and arbitration hearings; that much we already know. However, certain important factors relating to the introduction of circumstantial evidence, and the manner in which it is to be dealt with, must be borne...
Clear guidelines exist in abscondment cases
Case law has, for some time now, established laid down procedures and requirements which must be followed when an employee absconds and the employer knows the whereabouts of the absent employee. In circumstances where an employee absconds, deserts or sis simply absent...
Can one chairman start a disciplinary hearing and another finish?
I was posed a genuinely interesting question by a colleague last week. The scenario was as follows; if in a disciplinary hearing chairperson X, after delivering a verdict, becomes incapacitated, or even dies, prior to hearing mitigating and aggravating factors and...