My daughter, Rebecca, was around three or four years old – I’m hazy on the timing, but I’m crystal clear on the story I’m about to relate to you. It’s indelibly inked into my psyche. Rebecca reached out her hands to Simoné and I and said, “Mommy, daddy, I want to tell you something.” She led us to a couch and indicated that we should sit. She stood facing us. As I looked up into her eyes I drowned into the depths of my soul. Rebecca was gone. Someone or something else had replaced her. I can only describe it as the deepest wisdom I’ve ever experienced. I had the feeling I was meeting a blue-painted Pict that had been forged in the crucible of countless Caledonian winters. I didn’t get the feeling that she was a warrior, though. Her eyes were too gentle for that. They were like pools of love. If I were to describe her with the limited lexicon available to me, I’d have to say she was some kind of shaman. You were chosen Rebecca (the Pict) spoke, “You were chosen.” I looked at her nonplussed. She looked at Simoné and I with patience and with the total love only a parent can have for a child. She continued, “The old crone and I were sitting together waiting for you. And, when you came past she smiled, kissed me on my forehead and gently pushed me towards the two of you. And, you know what mommy and daddy? I’m so glad that we chose you.” Instantly, after she uttered those words, the eons of wisdom faded from her eyes. She became a child again and I had the illusion of becoming the parent again. She came to us and we all hugged and held onto this wonderful moment. If the great architect of the universe called me home right then, I would willingly have gone because for me, in that moment, all was right in the world. Ever since then, I’ve felt so blessed that this soul presented herself as flesh, named herself Rebecca and chose me as her father and Simoné as her mother. I know that by being graced by Rebecca, I have already been given more than is my due on this short journey. Someone has seen you Take a moment to pause and have a look at your child, your lover, your spouse, your parents, your friends and your work colleagues. Look into their eyes. Feel the call … the call of one soul choosing another. Remember, no matter whom you are or your station in life, someone has seen you. Someone has reached out to you. That alone should be reason enough for you to carry on with what’s left of journey in awe and gratitude … because you, you’re the chosen.

1. Volksrust Recorder - Column/Rubrieke10 Recorder 12 February 2016
Change
Your
Story
With Jacques de Villiers
You, the Chosen
“Take a moment to pause and have
a look at your child, your lover, your
spouse, your parents, your friends
and your work colleagues. Look into
their eyes. Feel the call … the call of
one soul choosing another.”
Forfurtherinformation:
Jacques de Villiers
jacques@jacquesdevilliers.com
082 906 3693
My daughter, Rebecca, was around three or
four years old – I’m hazy on the timing, but
I’m crystal clear on the story I’m about to
relate to you. It’s indelibly inked into my
psyche. Rebecca reached out her hands to
Simoné and I and said, “Mommy, daddy, I
want to tell you something.” She led us to a
couch and indicated that we should sit. She
stood facing us.As I looked up into her eyes
I drowned into the depths of my soul.
Rebecca was gone. Someone or something
else had replaced her. I can only describe it
as the deepest wisdom I’ve ever experienced.
I had the feeling I was meeting a blue-painted
Pict that had been forged in the crucible of
countless Caledonian winters. I didn’t get
the feeling that she was a warrior, though.
Her eyes were too gentle for that. They were
like pools of love. If I were to describe her
with the limited lexicon available to me, I’d
have to say she was some kind of shaman.
Rebecca (the Pict) spoke, “You were chosen.”
I looked at her nonplussed. She looked at
Simoné and I with patience and with the total
love only a parent can have for a child. She
continued, “The old crone and I were sitting
together waiting for you. And, when you
came past she smiled, kissed me on my
forehead and gently pushed me towards the
two of you. And, you know what mommy
and daddy? I’m so glad that we chose you.”
Instantly, after she uttered those words, the
eons of wisdom faded from her eyes. She
became a child again and I had the illusion
of becoming the parent again. She came to
us and we all hugged and held onto this
wonderful moment. If the great architect of
the universe called me home right then, I
would willingly have gone because for me,
in that moment, all was right in the world.
Ever since then, I’ve felt so blessed that this
soul presented herself as flesh, named herself
Rebecca and chose me as her father and
Simoné as her mother. I know that by being
graced by Rebecca, I have already been
given more than is my due on this short
journey. Take a moment to pause and have a
look at your child, your lover, your spouse,
your parents, your friends and your work
colleagues. Look into their eyes. Feel the call
… the call of one soul choosing another.
Remember, no matter whom you are, or your
station in life, someone has seen you.
Someone has reached out to you. That alone
should be reason enough for you to carry
on with what’s left of journey in awe and
gratitude … because you, you’re the chosen.
Passion Mother
of the Universe
To see JOK Inspirational on stage Call
JOK on 0720796796/0833691930 or
follow his Facebook page “JOK
Inspirational”.
The universe belongs to those who wait
with a positive mind, those who have the “I
can” mentality. Many people in the world
suffer today due to the lack of believing in
themselves. You must be a mover of your
own destiny. When life throws you
challenges, problems and hard times; face
them and it will make you feel jubilant. To
succeed in life you need three simple things;
respect, faith and boldness. Nothing can
defeat the will of courage. Take yourself on
a journey through the hills and valleys of
success to discover your inner you. Enemies
that are blocking your way shall not prosper
when you are determined to be successful.
Passion, the mother of the universe, has
changed many hopeless people’s lives.
Today we can live by courage to achieve
the greatest things in our lives. The journey
of success begins when you see the end
result in your mind. Be smart in everything
you do. Believe that all the stops and goes
or potholes that are on your journey, are
testing you for the greener pastures that lay
ahead of you. Remember if it’s not tested it
cannot be trusted. You are possible in the
name of the Lord.
"The journey of success begins when
you see the end result in your mind.
Be smart in everything you do."
~For more information, please call
Willem Husselmann -082 415 7725
Freddie Kapp - 017 735 4444
Ashraf Moola - 082 588 5515
The Labour Relations Act does not
prescribe that a disciplinary hearing must
take place before an employee may be
disciplined or dismissed for misconduct.
Procedurally, only an “investigation” and
compliance with a few other principles are
required for a fair process. Achieving
substantive fairness is somewhat more
complex and this should be the
determining factor in deciding on the
format of the disciplinary process.
Introduction
The cornerstone of South African labour
law, including workplace discipline, is
fairness. The Labour RelationsAct requires
employers to demonstrate both procedural
and substantive fairness when disciplining
employees for misconduct. The one
without the other is not sufficient.
Procedural fairness is easy enough to
understand – most employers realise by
now that an employee cannot simply be
dismissed or even given a warning ‘on the
spot’ without some sort of process or
interaction with the employee taking place
first. Substantive fairness means that there
must be merit to the allegations and that
there must be sufficient information to
determine that the employee has indeed
transgressed. Before looking at these
fairness principles in more detail, it is
important to understand what constitutes
misconduct. Misconduct in the work
environment is when an employee has
breached a valid rule or standard, and it
was his/her fault. If intention or negligence
on the part of the employee in breaching
the rule cannot be found, there is no blame
or guilt to be assigned.
Procedural fairness
There are no prescribed procedures to
follow when investigating misconduct and/
or disciplining an employee. The “rules of
natural justice” together with the procedural
principles found in Schedule 8 of the LRA,
should guide the employer towards
achieving procedural fairness. It is
important to note that these principles apply
to formal as well as informal disciplinary
processes. 1. The employee must
understand the allegations against him/her
- sufficient information regarding the
allegations must be given to the employee
in order for him/her to be able to respond;
the terminology used must be
understandable to the recipient; it should
be explained in a language that he/she
understands. 2. The employee must be
given an opportunity to present a case in
response to the allegations, including -
reasonable time to prepare a response;
representation / assistance by a co-worker;
an interpreter, if required. 3. The person
taking the decision must be neutral /
objective and inform the employee of the
decision reached. So when a manager has
to embark on a disciplinary process, it is
not a legal requirement to have a formal
hearing. The steps above can be equally
complied with by following an informal
process, or a ‘disciplinary interview’ of
sorts. Indeed, ever since the Labour Court
judgement inAvril Elizabeth Home for the
Mentally Handicapped v Commission for
Conciliation Mediation andArbitration and
Others [2006] ZALC 44, the courts have
advocated that an internal disciplinary
process should not be legalistic and should
Volksrust Seme
Business Chamber
Workplace Discipline – Back to Basics
By Judith Griessel, Griessel Consulting
be conducted with a minimum of formalities,
as opposed to the criminal justice model that
had been developed prior to 1996. The
argument in Avril Elizabeth was that the
external arbitration process at the CCMA
(or similar) is meant to be the primary forum
for determination of a disciplinary/dismissal
dispute – and that this is where the more
formal processes would be applied. The
court observed that there is no benefit to
either the employee or the employer to
duplicate the formal hearing process, even
if the result is dismissal of the employee.
Now, one would wonder – if an informal
decision about the employee’s guilt and
dismissal would satisfy the procedural
requirements of the Act, why do so many
employers still insist on conducting internal
hearings and spend lots of money on
disciplinary training for their managers? If
you think about it, it should be obvious to
anyone involved in the practical side of
employment relations. The CCMA does not
have the capacity to function as the ‘primary
forum’ to determine misconduct disputes –
as it is, commissioners are pushing for
settlements whenever they can, instead of
having to arbitrate. I also do not know how
comfortable a prudent employer would be
with dismissing an employee after an
informal chat, without having had the
opportunity to hear witnesses, consider
evidence and test conflicting versions.
Shooting from the hip and then waiting for
the CCMA to properly hear the case for the
first time - and ending up with a
reinstatement or compensation order for a
substantively unfair dismissal, is hardly
good business. So – in my view, formal
internal disciplinary hearings have its place,
although not so much to satisfy procedural
requirements, but for the sake of substantive
fairness, especially when there are
numerous factual disputes. Next week we
will focus on Substantive Fairness. The
other equally important leg on which our
LabourLawsystemisbuilton.Forsomething
different please watch the following video
clip: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=9Q3XZzqdQ4g
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