Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995)

Codes of Good Practice

Dismissal based on Operational Requirements

Schedule 8

Part D - Misconduct

6. Disciplinary measures
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(1)The purpose of discipline is for employees to know and understand what standards are required of them, and to guide their behaviour.

 

(2)The purpose of implementing disciplinary processes is corrective. They are primarily a means to correct an employee's behaviour through graduated disciplinary measures.2

 

(3)The form and content of disciplinary rules and procedures may vary according to the size and nature of the employer's business. Smaller employers may adopt a less formal approach to discipline.

 

(4)Disciplinary rules and procedures should be clear and made available to employees in a manner that is easily understood.

 

(5)It is preferable for employers, especially medium and larger employers, to adopt written disciplinary rules and procedures to establish the standard of conduct required of their employees and to create certainty and consistency in the application of discipline. 3

 

(6)Formal procedures do not have to be invoked every time a rule is broken, or a standard is not met. Informal advice and correction are often the best and most effective way for an employer to deal with minor violations of work discipline. Repeated misconduct will warrant warnings, which themselves may be graded according to degrees of severity. More serious infringements or repeated misconduct may call for a final warning or dismissal.

 

(7)The employer may depart from these rules and procedures if there is a justification for doing so.

 

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2Graduated disciplinary measures may, depending on the circumstances, include counselling, warnings, suspension, and a final warning.
3Other rules may still exist even if the employer has adopted written disciplinary rules and procedures, and some rules or standards may be so well established and known that it is not necessary to communicate them.