Dear Reader

Welcome to your Labour Bulletin.

As you know, the world is full of very interesting people. Many of whom have very different ideas to your own…I sometimes wonder where people come up with the reasons they do things.

Don’t worry, I’m not about to go off on a personal rant, but you may wonder why I feel the need to mention my observations…let me tell you.

Double jeopardy doesn’t just happen in the movies!

One of the ladies in my class at business school took me aside to ask an industrial relations question. I couldn’t wait to hear it…these are generally very interesting! You wouldn’t believe what some employees (and employers) do!  But this one was one of the worst “what are they doing?” ones I’ve ever heard!

She works in a big retail company so one would expect the HR department would know exactly what to do in any situation. It seems not!

One of her colleagues had received a hearing and a final written warning. Then the company reconvened the hearing (with no new evidence) and suspended him without pay, but the written warning stood too!

Would you have done the same? I hope not!

All I could say was I wish they were subscribers to Labour Law for Managers! At least then they could’ve referred to the guide to discipline correctly.

The penalties you can impose if an employee's found guilty

Here are the penalties you can impose if the employee’s found guilty depending on the factors of the specific case:

• Verbal warning and/or counselling
• Written warning
• Final written warning
• Treatment
• Treatment together with a warning
• Demotion
• Suspension without pay
• Dismissal – Should you dismiss your employee unfairly in any way he can take you to the CCMA or bargaining council

But, you can’t discipline and punish an employee twice for the same offence!

It’ll be a clear-cut case of double jeopardy, and I assure you…there’s no way you’ll be able to defend your decision!

With a process as unfair as this - I fear the next step of the saga will be a visit to the CCMA and a big payout to my friend’s colleague!

Make sure you follow the law to the letter when it comes to disciplining your employees. I don’t want you to be one of the unfortunate employers who lose at the CCMA.

Are you ready for the 1 October deadline?

The deadline for your Employment Equity reports (before you could have to pay a R500 000 fine) is 1 October and I’ve been dying to tell you this bit of news and now I finally can!

I’m excited to let you know that we’ve roped in our EE guru, Janine Nieuwoudt, to help you make sure your plans and reports are 100% correct and in line with the new regulations. Meet Janine on 2 September for an expert helping hand with EE. She’ll walk you through your reports, to make sure you avoid that nasty R500 000 fine… Email Tracyking@fsp.co.za for more information about this special event.

Until next time

Sarah-Jane Bosch

Managing Editor
Labour Law for Managers Loose Leaf
Practical Guide to Human Resources Management