In 2015/2016 alone, 74% of CCMA referrals ended in settlements. Employers often make mistakes from the very beginning of the disciplinary procedure which causes them to lose the case when it appears at the CCMA. Avoid these 10 pitfalls from the start when dismissing employees and minimise your chances of losing a CCMA case when it comes to that.

1. Top 10 employer mistakes during
dismissals

2. Employers are losing their
own CCMA cases by
making these 10 common
mistakes

3. South Africa has some of the world’s most
stringent labour laws
&
In 2015/2016 the CCMA received 179 528
referrals, of which 74% ended in settlements

4. 10 common mistakes
employers make during
dismissal procedures

5. 1
Failing to establish a fair Disciplinary
Code setting out workplace offences &
providing guidelines on sanctions. This
Code must be known to all employees.

6. 2
Failing to investigate alleged
transgressions before proceeding with a
formal disciplinary hearing.

7. 3
Failing to give the employee adequate
notice to attend the disciplinary hearing
with enough details for the employee to be
prepared.

8. 4
Failing to act consistently. Employers
have a duty to treat all breaches of its
workplace rules in a consistent manner.

9. 5
Failing to show progressive discipline.
All breaches are not equal in severity but
the correct approach is often verbal, written
and final written warning.

10. 6
Failing to delegate the responsibility of
chairing disciplinary hearings to
sufficiently senior and experienced staff
members.

11. 7
Failure to hold a procedurally fair hearing.
While not as strict as a criminal trial, the
basics must be in place: both parties may
present evidence, call witnesses, state their
cases and cross examine each others’
witnesses.

12. 8
Failure to keep a proper document trail
of the disciplinary process. Many CCMA
cases are lost because the employer fail to
produce the correct documentary proof
when required.

13. 9
Failure to continuously train relevant
staff members on the latest changes in
labour legislation.

14. 10
Failure to make use of professional assistance
– given the complexity and stringence of South
Africa’s labour legislation, professional advice
is often the difference between success and
failure at the CCMA.