Conducting the disciplinary hearing Sample Clauses

Conducting the disciplinary hearing a. The disciplinary hearing must be held within ten working days after the notice referred to in paragraph 7.1(a) is delivered to the employee. b. The chair of the hearing must be appointed by the employer and be an employee on a higher grade than the representative of the employer. c. The employer and the employee charged with misconduct may agree that the disciplinary hearing will be chaired by an arbitrator from the relevant sectoral bargaining council appointed by the council. The decision of the arbitrator will be final and binding and only open to review in terms of the Labour Relations Act, 1995. All the provisions applicable to disciplinary hearings in terms of this Code will apply for purposes of these hearings. The employer will be responsible to pay the costs of the arbitrator. d. If the employee wishes, she or he may be represented in the hearing by a fellow employee or a representative of a recognised trade union. e. If necessary, an interpreter may attend the hearing. f. In a disciplinary hearing, neither the employer nor the employee may be represented by a legal practitioner, unless – (i) the employee is a legal practitioner or the representative of the employer is a legal practitioner and the direct supervisor of the employee charged with misconduct; or (ii) the disciplinary hearing is conducted in terms of paragraph 7.3.

Conducting the disciplinary hearing a. The disciplinary must be held within ten working days after the notice referred to in paragraph 7.1(a) is delivered to the employee. b. The chair of the hearing must be an employee on a higher grade than the representative of the employer. If the employee charged with misconduct is a head of department, the presiding officer must be an executing authority or another person with appropriate knowledge designated by the Cabinet or the Provincial Executive Committee. c. If the employee wishes, she or he may be represented in the hearing by a fellow employee or a representative of a recognised trade union. d. If necessary, an interpreter may attend the hearing. e. In a disciplinary hearing, neither the employer nor the employee may be represented by a legal practitioner, unless the employee is a legal practitioner. For the purposes of this agreement, a legal practitioner is defined as a person who is admitted to practise as an advocate or an attorney in South Africa. f. If the employee fails to attend the hearing and the chair concludes that the employee did not have a valid reason, the hearing may continue in the employee’s absence. g. The chair must keep a record of the notice of the disciplinary hearing and the proceedings of the meeting. h. The chair will read the notice for the record and start the hearing. i. The representative of the employer will lead evidence on the conduct giving rise to the hearing. The employee or the employee’s representative may question any witness introduced by the representative of the employer. j. The employee will be given an opportunity to lead evidence. The representative of the employer may question the witnesses. k. The chair may ask any witness questions for clarification. l. If the chair decides the employee has committed misconduct, the chair must inform the employee of the finding and the reasons for it. m. Before deciding on a sanction, the chair must give the employee an opportunity to present relevant circumstances in mitigation. The representative of the employer may also present aggravating circumstances. n. The chair must communicate the final outcome of the hearing to the employee within five working days after the conclusion of the disciplinary enquiry, and the outcome must be recorded on the employee’s personal file.