INSCAPE EDUCATION GROUP

 

Disciplinary Policy & Procedures

                                                                             R0 (under development)

                                                                                                  2006/03/10

 

Disciplinary Policy

Inscape adheres to the Code of Good Practice for Dismissal: Schedule 8 of the Labour Relations Act of 1995, as amended.

 

Disciplinary Procedures

These disciplinary procedures are intended to provide advice and direction for Inscape staff members’ conduct and performance of their duties.

 

The aim of these procedures is to correct unacceptable behaviour or practice or non-performance of duties.  They also creates certainty and consistency in the application of discipline.

 

The college is responsible for ensuring that each staff member is aware of the college’s Standards Conditions of Employment and the job description for each staff member’s position.

 

Each staff member must to comply with the college’s Standards Conditions of Employment and their job description. The staff member must also ensure that he or she is familiar with the requirements in terms of the disciplinary standards in the workplace.

 

COUNSELING

A staff member should be counselled when he or she not performing to a standard or is not aware of a rule regulating conduct and/or where the breach of the rule is relatively minor and can be condoned.  A record of the counselling must be kept.

 

DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Disciplinary action will be appropriate where a breach of the rule cannot be condoned, or where counselling has failed to achieve the desired effect.

 

Before deciding on the form of discipline, management must meet the staff member in order to explain the nature of the rule that s/he is alleged to have breached.  The staff member should also be given the opportunity to respond and explain his or her conduct.  If possible an agreed remedy on how to address the conduct should be arrived at.

 

FORMS OF DISCIPLINE

Disciplinary action can take a number of forms, depending on the seriousness of the offence and whether the staff member has breached the particular rule before.

 

The following forms of discipline can be used (in order of severity):

·        Verbal warning;

·        Written warning;

·        Final written warning;

·        Dismissal.

 

Before conducting any disciplinary action, Inscape must establish how serious the offence is, with reference to the disciplinary rules.  If the offence is not very serious, informal disciplinary action can be taken by giving a staff member a verbal warning.  A written record of this must be kept.

 

Formal disciplinary steps would include written warnings and the other forms of discipline listed above.  A final written warning could be given in cases where the contravention of the rule is serious or where the staff member has received warnings for the same offence before.  A staff member can appeal against a final warning and Inscape can hold an enquiry if the college believes that it is only through hearing evidence that the outcome can be determined.

 

Written warnings will remain valid for 3 to 6 months.  Final written warnings will remain valid for 12 months.  A warning for one type of contravention is not applicable to another type of offence.  In other words, a first written warning for late-coming could not lead to a second written warning for insubordination.

 

Staff members will be requested to sign warning letters and will be given an opportunity to state their objections, should there be any.  Should a staff member refuse to sign a warning letter, this does not make the warning invalid.  A witness should sign the warning, stating that the staff member refused acceptance of the warning.

 

Dismissal is reserved for the most serious offences and will be preceded by a fair disciplinary enquiry, unless an exceptional circumstance results in a disciplinary enquiry becoming either impossible (e.g. the staff member absconded and never returned) or undesirable (e.g. holding an enquiry will endanger life or property).

 

HOLDING A FORMAL ENQUIRY

The college should give the staff member not less than three days notice of the enquiry and the letter should include:

·        the date, time and venue of the hearing,

·        details of the charges against the staff member,

·        the staff member’s rights to be represented by a fellow staff member at the hearing.

Inscape must allow the staff member to make representations.

 

The following people should be present at the enquiry:

·        (An independent and impartial chairman, if necessary)

·        A management representative

·        The staff member

·        The staff member representative

·        Any witnesses for either parties

·        An interpreter if required by the staff member

 

HOW TO CONDUCT A HEARING?

If the staff member does not attend the hearing, it must go ahead except if good cause can be shown for not attending.

 

The hearing starts with Inscape providing the evidence of the wrong-doing.  

The staff member is then given an opportunity to respond.  

The chairman may ask any witnesses questions for clarification.  

At the end of the hearing, the chairman decides whether the staff member is guilty or not guilty.  If the staff member is found to be guilty, the chairman must ask both parties to suggest appropriate disciplinary action to be taken.  The chairman must then decide what disciplinary action to impose and then inform the staff member accordingly.

The staff member should be informed that s/he has a right to appeal.  

 

The parties can also request, by mutual consent, the CCMA to appoint an arbitrator to conduct a final and binding disciplinary enquiry.  The parties will be required to share the prescribed fee.

 

 

Adapted from: CCMA Info Sheet: Disciplinary Procedures - Mar 2002

           

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