Employers bear the onus in disciplinary cases. Put differently, an employee can be found guilty only by virtue of the fact that the employer complainant has proved the employee’s guilt to the chairperson, not by virtue of the fact that he or she is not guilty.

Second, guilt is established on the probabilities, not on the absence of reasonable doubt. So far a chairperson to find an alleged offender guilty, there must be sufficient proof from the employer complainant that the alleged offender probably is guilty. Employers occasionally encounter difficulty in alleged unfair dismissal arbitration cases of their having deviated from their own disciplinary procedure or code. An employer will always be scrutinised for procedural fairness according to an assessment of its compliance with its own procedure.

onus

Parties to disciplinary hearings frequently fall foul of the duty to present all relevant evidence at the disciplinary hearings, which in simple terms obligates parties to disciplinary hearings to bring all evidence and not hold some back, only to be used if the matter is disputed.

For further information on Unfair Dismissal or any labour related matters, you can contact
Bernard Reisner:
W.Tel no.: 021-423-3959
Cell: 082-433-8714
Fax: 021-4232105
E-mail: bernard@capelabour.co.za
Website: www.capelabour.co.za