Disciplinary code and procedure
Disciplinary Code and Procedure
1. PURPOSE
This code serves as guideline to the employee with reference to what will be deemed as inappropriate conduct. It spells out how the Company will deal with any occurrences of misconduct and gives guidelines as to the disciplinary measures which may be imposed.
It is impossible for any Disciplinary Code to contain an exhaustive list of every conceivable offence. This Code therefore lists only the more serious offences or more common types of offences, but the omission or non-inclusion of any particular offence from this Code shall not prohibit the Company from instituting disciplinary action against any employee for any offence not listed in this Code. Also, some rules or standards are so well established and known that it is not necessary to communicate them in writing.
2. APPLICATION
This policy applies to all New Media Labs Services (Pty) Ltd, hereinafter referred to as "NML" or "the Company," employees.
3. DEFINITIONS
| Absenteeism | For the purpose of this policy absenteeism refers to one or two day(s) of absence from work, when the employee is not attending to his/her duties in terms of the employment contract without having obtained authorised leave via PaySpace or written approval from their direct manager. |
|---|---|
| Abscond | Absconding from work is deemed to have occurred when an employee is absent from work for such a period that it seems they might not or do not intend to return to work. For example, if an employee is absent from work without permission for several days without informing the employer, and the employer is unable to make contact with the employee. |
| Dereliction of Duty | An employee's failure to fulfill their duties as indicated in their contract, or in their job description, in Company policy or Important Notices, or as instructed by a superior and/or NML client. |
| Desertion | At NML, an employee will be deemed to have deserted their employment at the Company if s/he is absent for a period of seven or more days without providing a valid reason for such absence or without permission. |
| Extended absenteeism | This refers to a period of three to six days when an employee is not attending to his/her work without having obtained authorised leave via PaySpace or written approval from their direct manager. |
| Failing to collaborate | Examples include, but are not limited to, failing to respond to a team member's work-related request within 60 minutes, not being available on Teams, or not attending to work items at the same rate as colleagues on your level. |
| Gross dishonesty | Any form of deception, illegal or unethical act detrimental to the employment relationship. Aggravated by further acts of deception or attempts to cover up the original misconduct. |
| Insubordination | Defiance of authority or refusal to obey orders. |
| Insolence | Rude and/or disrespectful behaviour towards the employer |
| Misrepresentation | A misrepresentation is a false or misleading statement or a material omission which renders other statements misleading, whether it was done with or without intent. |
| Misuse of company property | Refers to the inappropriate use of property that could/did lead to damage of company property and/or result in the Company incurring a financial burden. |
| Tardiness | Tardiness in the work context would refer to repeatedly missing deadlines |
| Unruly behaviour | Disorderly, disruptive, rowdy or thug behaviour. Examples include, but is not limited to, raising your voice to colleagues/clients/superiors, or making offensive comments |
4. MISCONDUCT
Misconduct will be divided in three categories: i.e. minor transgressions, serious misconduct and very serious misconduct. The seriousness of the misconduct will determine how the offence will be dealt with. The different types of misconduct and their degree of seriousness are set out in the table below:
| MINOR TRANSGRESSIONS | SERIOUS MISCONDUCT | VERY SERIOUS MISCONDUCT |
|---|---|---|
| Late for duty | Absenteeism (absence without authorised leave) | Extended absenteeism |
| Petty negligence – negligence which does not hold serious financial implications or result in reputational damage | Loss of, or damage to property of The Company or any of its clients through negligence, including but not limited to financial loss and/or reputational damage | Malicious damage to property |
| Sleeping on duty | In case of absence on account of being sick, failing to report this to your line manager/Project Manager in line with the sick leave policy | Feigning sickness or Abuse of sick leave |
| Unruly, disruptive or offensive behaviour | Substandard client service | |
| Not disclosing a romantic relationship with a co-worker | Making negative remarks about the Employer to colleagues, superiors or clients | Commits any act of sexual harassment, racism or any other form of discriminatory conduct in conflict with the employment equity or constitutional rights to dignity and fair treatment of all people |
| Failure to comply with a reasonable instruction 1 (no significant negative consequences for the Company) | Failure to comply with a reasonable instruction 2 (that resulted in negative financial consequences or reputational damage to the Company) | Insubordination or refusal to carry out legitimate instructions. Or Failure to comply with a reasonable instruction 3 – which resulted in significant negative financial or other consequences to the Company. |
| Misuse of alcohol or an intoxicating substance and/or drunkenness whilst on duty | Threat of assault, assault or violence or wilful endangerment of the safety of others | |
| Tardiness in execution of duties | Gross dishonesty, theft, fraud, corruption or making a misrepresentation to the Company. | |
| Dereliction of duty | Serious undermining of the Company's business, position or authority. | |
| Failing to collaborate with your team members | Disrespecting a superior | Incites other personnel to non procedural and/or unlawful conduct |
| Failure to meet Employer or job requirements | Endangers the lives of self or others by disregarding safety rules or regulations | |
| Unauthorised use of propertybelonging to the Company or any of its clients for private use/personal gain | Misuse of information unique to the Company or any of its clients and/or which is regarded asconfidential by the Company for personal gain | |
| Misuse or wastage of company property | Carries or keep firearms or other dangerous weapons on Company premises, without the written authorisation of the employer | |
| Failure to follow procedure 1 (no significant negative consequences for the Company) | Failure to follow procedure 2(that resulted in negative financial consequences or reputational damage to the Company) | Failure to follow procedure 3 (which resulted in significant negative financial or other consequences to the Company.) |
5. DESERTION
5.1. An employee will have established their intention to desert the employment of the Company if s/he is absent from duty for a period of seven (7) days without: 5.1.1 providing a valid reason and substantiating valid evidence for such absence; and 5.1.2 advising the Company of expected date of return to work; or 5.1.3 without permission.
5.2 Employees should note that desertion amounts to repudiation of the employment contract. The Company is entitled to accept this which would result in the termination of the employment relationship.
5.3. The seven day period would be calculated as follows: if absence starts on a Monday following a weekend or any day following a public holiday, the first day of absence will be deemed to be the Monday or the first working day following the public holiday. If a weekend or public holiday follows any consecutive number of days of absence, the weekend or public holiday will be included in the calculation of the seven (7) day period.
5.4. If an employee does not report for duty within seven (7) days of his/her last day on duty, s/he will be subjected to a disciplinary hearing.
5.5. If the employee is still absent after seven (7) days, the Company will accept the repudiation of the employment contract and the employment relationship will be terminated by way of repudiation. No benefits will be payable.
5.6. Managers must take the following course of action when they suspect that an employee have absconded:
| DAY OF ABSENCE | ACTION TO FOLLOW BY MANAGER |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Await communication from employee. |
| Day 2 | Contact employee via whatsapp/sms, personal email or phone call – if any of those options are effective – to enquire regarding their whereabouts and expected date of return. Give a clear instruction to provide substantiating evidence for their absence before close of business or alternatively render their resignation. |
| Day 3 | If the manager was unable to get hold of the employee on Day 2, reach out to their emergency contact and inform that person that the employee must contact their manager urgently and report for duty immediately. |
| Day 4 | If the employee has still failed to contact the employer, issue the first letter of desertion to the employee. Share with the employee via all communication channels available to the employer. Also make use of registered mail to their last known address. |
| Day 5 | Await response from employee. |
| Day 6 | Await response from employee. |
| Day 7 | Conduct a Desertion Enquiry, this may continue in absentia. |
| Day 8 | Issue final letter of desertion to employee via all available communication channels, notifying the employee that the repudiation of his/her contract of employment is accepted, and that his/her employment is therefore terminated by way of repudiation. |
5.7 Should the employee return, offering their services after the final letter of desertion has been issued, schedule an appeal hearing. The onus then rests on the employee to show good cause why his/her actions should be pardoned.
5.8 Desertion is extremely problematic for the Company as the shortage of a resource in a team causes severe issues for the Company in terms of delivering to its clients and causes unnecessary distress for the team.
5.9 It is imperative to note that the principle of no work, no pay applies.
5.10 The Company does not accept communication via a colleague. If an employee will be absent for any period of time, it remains the responsibility of the employee to communicate directly (face to face or by means of a phone call) with their manager:
- before 09:00 on the first day of absence; and
- daily afterwards for every consecutive day of absence.
6. DISCIPLINARY MEASURES
6.1 The following serves as a guideline of which disciplinary measures will be imposed for different types of transgressions. The Company may in its discretion impose a lighter disciplinary measure than given in this guideline at any time, provided that such a decision is reasonable and consistent with the treatment of other employees under similar circumstances.
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1st Transgression | Verbal warning | First or Final written warning | Final written warning ora disciplinary hearing seeking dismissal with orwithout notice |
| 2nd Transgression | First written warning | Final written warning or a disciplinary hearing seeking dismissal with notice | A disciplinary hearing seeking dismissal with orwithout notice. |
| 3rd Transgression | Final written warning | A disciplinary hearing seeking dismissal with notice | |
| 4th Transgression | A disciplinary hearing seeking dismissal with notice | ||
6.2 Validity of warnings
| TYPE OF WARNING | PERIOD VALID |
|---|---|
| Verbal warning | Three (3) months |
| First written warning | Six (6) months |
| Final written warning | Twelve (12) months |
6.3 If a valid warning exists against an employee when s/he is found guilty of an offence, the existing warning will be taken into account when the disciplinary measure is imposed. An existing warning may thus have an aggravating effect on a following disciplinary measure.
7. SUSPENSION
7.1. An employee may be suspended temporarily pending the conclusion of a disciplinary inquiry into a very serious transgression.
7.2. Suspension will take place with retention of salary and is not a disciplinary measure. The purpose of suspension is exclusively to protect the Company against any further damage that may be caused by the continued presence of such an employee in the workplace.
7.3. When suspension is considered, the Company must provide the employee with the reasons for the contemplated action.
7.4. The Company will also give the employee an opportunity to provide reasons why s/he is of the opinion that suspension is not warranted.
7.5. After having decided to suspend an employee in terms of this procedure, the Company will inform the employee of the reasons for this decision.
7.6. The disciplinary inquiry must take place as soon as reasonably possible after suspension.
7.7. An employee may also be suspended without pay as alternative to dismissal. Suspension without pay will only be considered as a possible sanction in extraordinary cases of repeated minor transgressions and will only be imposed after fair procedures have been followed.
8 DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE
8.1. Minor transgression
In the case of a minor transgression for which no previous disciplinary measure is valid, an HR representative or any manager who is in a supervisory position in respect of the offending employee may summarily issue a verbal warning. A verbal warning is recorded informally by confirming it via an email to the employee.
8.2 Serious and very serious misconduct
The Company will inform the employee in writing of a disciplinary inquiry into alleged misconduct within a reasonable time after the alleged misconduct took place. The following information will be provided:
8.2.1. The transgression which the employee is alleged to have committed.
8.2.2. Reasonable information with regard to the alleged misconduct that will enable the employee to prepare his/her defence. This includes mention of the date of the incident and the relevant client and/or project
8.2.3. The date, time and place of the disciplinary inquiry.
8.2.4. The employee will be informed of his/her right to representation and the right to present his/her case at the inquiry.
8.2.5. The Company will give an employee at least 48 hours' notice of a disciplinary inquiry and such notice will not take place over a weekend.
8.2.6. The employee will be entitled to representation by a recognised trade union representative or a fellow employee.
8.2.7. The disciplinary inquiry will take on a formal format. At least the following persons will be present at the inquiry:
- The chairperson
- A Senior Manager or HR Representative
- The accused employee
- Witnesses
8.3 Course of the inquiry
8.3.1. During the inquiry the employee will be confronted with the alleged transgression and s/he will be given the opportunity to state his/her case. The chairperson will listen to and evaluate all the evidence and will come to a conclusion as to the employee's guilt based on the balance of probabilities.
8.3.2. The disciplinary measure is recorded on the appropriate form and the employee is requested to sign the form as acknowledgement of receipt. Should the employee refuse to sign, any witness present may sign as proof that the employee has heard the disciplinary measure.
8.3.3. The chairperson informs the employee of the right to refer this matter for further attention in terms of the Labour Relations Act, 1995.
8.4 Record keeping
The Company will keep written record of all disciplinary enquiries and such records will be kept on the employee's personnel file. Any such records will be made available to the employee or his/her authorised representative on written request.
9. DISABILITY AND INCAPACITY
9.1. Disability is not a misconduct but is included here because it may lead to the termination of the employment contract. Two types of disability can be distinguished, i.e. disability due to disease, which may be temporary or permanent, and incapacity on judicial grounds.
9.2. When an employee becomes disabled due to disease, the probability of recuperation will be considered and leave without remuneration may be granted for a period agreed upon.
9.3. The Company may thereafter consider dismissal with notice, taking into account the type of work which is to be done and the impact of the employee's continued illness will have on it.
9.4 An employee becomes disabled or incapacitated due to judicial grounds if s/he is detained. The Company may dismiss such an employee after considering the reason for detention as well as the (expected) duration thereof.
AMENDMENTS TO THIS PROCEDURE
This procedure may be amended by The Company, provided that the procedure is not in conflict with the provisions of the Labour Relations Act.