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Davis Ndumiso Sibanda
TODAY many employers are paying for cases of unfair dismissals that they should not be paying for and many workers lost out on payments that were due to them due to failure to respect labour cases documentation and set timeframes.

Jane was given a notice to attend a labour arbitration hearing in a case of unfair dismissal she had against an employer and on the day of the hearing she did not attend but elected to go and watch a mid-week soccer match of her favourite team.

She had a good case, however, but the matter was dismissed as the claimant was not there to argue her case and the situation was worsened by the fact that she had not made written submissions. There are many workers who have lost cases out of ignorance of the law like Jane.

One company is battling to overturn an arbitration award where a worker was awarded $18,000 related to back-pay, overtime, cash in lieu of leave, standby allowance, transport allowance, housing allowance and meals allowance which were claimed by the worker because every time the employer was notified of a hearing he did not go until an award was made in the worker’s favour despite the fact that the employer had proof in the form of payslips and bank deposits that all the worker’s claims were false as the employer had paid the worker in full.

The cost of undoing the arbitration award out of time is huge and the process is complex.

Legally set times in the disciplinary process cannot be unilaterally abandoned, ignored or varied. One has to respect the set timeframes as failure to respect set timeframes can easily result in a hearing proceeding without the party that has not attended to its             disadvantage.

When one does not attend the hearing after having being notified of the date, the time and venue for the hearing, the hearing authority is left with no choice but to proceed without the absent party.

Using stories like “I was sick” or producing a doctor’s sick leave certificate do not help as the doctors certificate is merely a supporting document which helps one apply for a postponement of a hearing.

Simply put, a sickness certificate from a medical doctor should always be attached to an application for postponement of a hearing as a supporting document. This must be presented to the Disciplinary Authority before the hearing and not after when one applies for recession of decision that was made in his absence then the matters are even more complex in that one has to prove two things that is, reasons for the delay and prospects of success.

The process is legal and highly technical requiring someone with a trained mind to assist as not all reasons are acceptable at law.

In conclusion, the golden rule is that never ignore any papers from labour offices, Designated Agents, the Labour Court or Internal Disciplinary Authorities and ensure that you comply with what you are being asked to do, and if you are not sure on what to do consult someone knowledgeable such as a labour consultant, trade unionist, or lawyer and get appropriate guidance.

Many employers have adopted the “do it myself” approach usually ending in disastrous expensive results.

Davies Ndumiso Sibanda can be contacted on:
email: [email protected] or cell no: 0772 375 235