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Davies Ndumiso Sibanda
A LARGE number of disciplinary cases that are lost by organisations are a result of manipulation of the disciplinary process by senior management in a desperate effort to get rid of an employee who will not have committed any misconduct.

Not long ago I attended an arbitration hearing where a worker had been dismissed by an employer for failure to meet performance targets and at the hearing the worker produced a copy of the email sent by the general manager instructing the worker’s boss to get rid of him at any cost but, “be smart as we do not want comebacks”.

The general manager refused to attend the hearing as a witness to the detriment of the employer’s case as the worker was reinstated and the employer opted to pay damages instead of reinstatement.

The damages awarded were punitive and cost the organisation a lot of money.

I am of the view that a manager who costs the organisation money related to unlawful dismissal is a liability and at some point he has to be disciplined for being a liability to the organisation.

Senior managers should recognise that no amount of money or power can override the justice process as the worker will get justice once the matter goes outside. In fact when the matter is brought before arbitrators, the Labour Court, Supreme Court or Constitutional Court, only facts and the law will be the issue depending on the nature and process of the particular court. Seniority will be irrelevant thus the worker will get a fair hearing.

This puts pressure on employers to be fair from the onset.

How do we identify managers who need help with discipline handling training? They can easily be identified through simple audits that look at the number of disciplinary cases emanating from each department, the number of disciplinary cases appealed by department, the number of cases lost by department, the labour litigation costs by department, cost of settlements by department and lost productive time attending disciplinary cases by department. Such statistics if correctly captured can give a very good indication of managers who need help. Managers can even earn performance points related to discipline handling.

Such audits, however, need to be professionally handled as they may scare managers from being firm as they fear the statistical implication.

These are also exceptions to the rule as areas such as underground mining have a large number of employees who absent themselves without leave due to the nature of work.

In conclusion, all senior managers need to be adequately equipped in discipline law covering mainly conducting disciplinary hearings and chairing them.

l Davies Ndumiso Sibanda can be contacted on: E: [email protected]; C: 0772 375 235