Employers frequently complete disciplinary hearing charge sheets poorly without properly outlining the specific components of the allegations being levelled against an employee.
Employers often accuse employees of acts of misconduct which, in fact, cannot be proved. An employer’s assumptions or suspicions are of no value if they cannot be proved on the balance of probabilities as is required. The amount of information contained in misconduct “charge sheet” is normally referred to as the “particularisation”. This frequently leads to disputes which focus on the actual amount of information an employer must include in a “charge sheet” so as to enable the alleged offender to comprehend the allegations against him/her so that they are in a position to properly prepare a defence.
If an employee is of the view that the employer has not furnished them with enough information in charge sheet to prepare a defence, such employee may request that they be furnished with further “particularisation” in respect of the allegation(s).
In short, Schedule 8 of the LRA informs parties that charges should be levelled “in a form and language that employees can reasonably understand”.

For further information on any labour related matters, you can contact Bernard Reisner:

W.Tel no.: 021 423 3959
Fax: 021 423 2105
Cell: 082 433 8714
E-mail: bernard@capelabour.co.za
Website: www.capelabour.co.za

Please see our guide on Chairing a Disciplinary Hearing, which highlights some issues employers need to consider.

For more labour law related enquirires, please feel free to contact Bernard on:

W. Tel: 021 423 3959
Fax: 021 423 2105
Cell: 082 433 3959
Email: bernard@capelabour.co.za