Notice to attend a Disciplinary Hearing

[@mondlidlamini6574]

Baie Dankie 👍

[@thulambonane4290]

Very informative, thanks Carmen. Looking forward to your video on how to phrase charges. Please keep them coming, I am learning a lot.🙏

[@carmenfourie5346]

Thanks for letting me know. Will do :)

[@music-ig7kh]

I don't have words to describe you maam.You must be daughter of god.

[@music-ig7kh]

So kind.Thank you

[@MrAnslin1]

Is a summons/notice liable for total correctness, for instance a dare that appears to be "mistake"?

[@carmenfourie5346]

No, there does not necessarily need to be total correctness, but the fairness would depend on the type of error. For example, typos or spelling mistakes would not necessarily render a document unfair, but there are some errors that would mean that the notice needs to be reissued and the hearing rescheduled.

[@MrAnslin1]

What is the duty of chairperson at the beginning of hearing pertaining to introduction of him/herself etc? What if the employee hold thought of chairperson being staff, and possibility of biasness? Can employee mention he reserve his rights and options, should hearing proceed?

[@carmenfourie5346]

It makes practical sense for the chairperson to introduce themselves, but there is no specific obligation around what this needs to be included in that introduction. I typically keep my introductions brief - my name, that I am impartial and what my responsibility / role is in the hearing. If someone would like more information, I provide it depending on the information requested. In terms of thinking that the chairperson is bias - in my experience the employee would need to proceed with the hearing to see if the chairperson's behaviour is rendering the hearing unfair. If the chairperson is conducting the hearing in such a way that the employee feels their rights are not being upheld, I would recommend they make the chairperson aware of this and ask for this to be rectified. In the event that the employee feels that the hearing was conducted in a manner that is not fair, they can refer the matter to the CCMA. It is not necessary to say that they reserve their rights.

[@luyandamaphinda9401]

Is it correct to say "on or between 14-21 October 2020". No specific day of the alleged offence.

[@carmenfourie5346]

If the specific date is not known then generally "on or between" is used with the assumption that the dates will be clarified in the hearing. The appropriateness of this depends on the specifics of the case. The main point of a charge is for an employee to understand what they are preparing for and what they need to defend themselves against. Hence the fairness / appropriateness of that language depends on whether or not it is clear what an employee is preparing for and defending themselves against.

[@MrAnslin1]

Hi Carmen, I trust you're in good stead and well? A friend of mine received a notice/summons also with "on or around 'date' at 'time'. In this case it can't be "around", since after that date he was on "suspension"? So it must be on or before? Is that ambiguis? My inference is that the time stays fact as in summons? I understand that in disciplinary procedure chairperson work on "balance of probabilities"? But shouldn't company avoid ambiguity, to exactly cause fairness in the hearing?

[@music-ig7kh]

Can you help me.I don't have money to pay you.