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Davies Ndumiso Sibanda
MANY supervisors and managers fall sick or get stressed when they have to discipline subordinates to the extent that some make expensive mistakes for the organisation.

The act of discipline handling can be a huge task for any supervisor or manager because despite the fact that there could be misconduct, which need to be dealt with in-terms of the code of conduct, the fact that the disciplinary action will result in some sanction and in the worst case the sanction could be dismissal, many fear to do it.

There is no doubt that when one is appointed to a position of a supervisor, one is made aware of the duty to ensure discipline among the subordinates.

However, very few ever contemplate the implications of discipline handling as the whole process can easily be “politically” charged, with the alleged offender alleging things like tribalism, racism, religious persecution, political persecution, sexual harassment, mere hatred and many others.

A few days ago, I overheard a man speaking on the phone saying to a friend a colleague had been dismissed for no apparent reason because the boss wanted to create space for a former schoolmate of his who was out of employment.

Later when I enquired on the facts of the case, I was told that the guy had been involved in a road accident while carrying an unauthorised passenger who got injured. In my opinion such conduct is dismissible and goes to the root of the relationship.

Due to all these political issues, many managers therefore are afraid of being caught up in the maze. Employers have not helped their supervisors without having had proper training. Employers must not assume that a 30 minute discussion on how to discipline subordinates and the technicalities related to discipline handling can be given to supervisors in a 10 minute talk.

It requires proper training, first on the socio psychological issues and on the technical issues. Failure to satisfy the socio psychological issues is not fatal.  However, failure to follow technical processes can cost the organisation a fortune in legal costs and other expenses related to wrongful dismissal.

In conclusion, for an organisation to survive and avoid costs related to wrongful dismissal, all supervisors and heads of department who had disciplinary hearings either as complainants, disciplinary authority or witnesses must be thoroughly trained in discipline handling, a process that covers issues such as the code procedures, principles of natural justice, evidence handling, conduct of the hearing, handling of witnesses and making a determination.

Davies Ndumiso Sibanda can be contacted on: email: [email protected], Or cell No: 0772 375 235.