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Quick Look Course Summary:Chairing Disciplinary Hearings Course (3 days)
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Length: 3 day(s)
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Price (at your venue): 1 Person R 14,997 EX VAT 3 Person R 11,205 EX VAT 10 Person R 8,120 EX VAT
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Certification Type:Non-Accredited
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Locations & Venues: Off-site or in-house. We train in all major city centres throughout South Africa.
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Chairing Disciplinary Hearings Course (3 days)
Chairpersons who run hearings impartially, weigh the evidence properly and write findings that hold up if the matter goes to the CCMA.
Most of the legal risk in an internal hearing rests on one person: the chairperson. If the chair is not impartial, allows the process to drift, ignores evidence or cannot explain how the sanction was reached, a dismissal that was justified on the facts can still be found unfair. This chairing disciplinary hearings course prepares managers to take that seat with confidence and to run a hearing that is fair to the employee and defensible for the employer.
The course spends three full days on the chairperson's work. Day one sets the foundation: the Labour Relations Act, the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal, your disciplinary code, the difference between dismissible and non-dismissible offences, and what must happen before a hearing starts. Day two is the hearing itself: opening and preliminary issues, the plea, leading and testing evidence, credibility, the finding and the sanction. Day three is a practice day: every delegate chairs part of a mock hearing, writes an outcome and gets feedback, and the group works through appeals and what a CCMA commissioner looks for in the record.
Shop stewards and employee representatives also benefit, as the course covers representing an employee and the rights the chairperson must protect. Content is general guidance on South African labour law, not legal advice.
Why this course
For your organisation
- A pool of trained, impartial chairpersons for internal hearings
- Findings and sanctions with written reasons that can be defended
- Consistent outcomes across departments and sites
- Lower risk of reinstatement orders or compensation awards for procedural unfairness
For your delegates
- A step-by-step chairperson's script from opening to outcome
- Practice chairing a mock hearing with structured feedback
- A template for writing the finding and sanction
- Confidence to handle objections, postponements and difficult representatives
What delegates will be able to do
- Explain the fairness requirements of the Labour Relations Act and the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal as they apply to hearings
- Classify a transgression and apply the correct procedure for dismissible and non-dismissible offences
- Check that the investigation, charges and notice are in order before the hearing starts
- Open a hearing, explain the employee's rights and rule on preliminary issues such as postponements and objections
- Take the plea and control the leading and questioning of evidence
- Assess the credibility of witnesses and decide the matter on a balance of probabilities
- Decide a fair sanction that weighs mitigating and aggravating factors and past practice
- Write and communicate a reasoned outcome and keep a complete record
- Represent an employee at a hearing and explain the next steps if the matter is referred to the CCMA
Who should attend
Managers, HR practitioners and senior team leaders who chair or will chair disciplinary hearings, shop stewards and employee representatives, and HR staff who maintain the disciplinary code and appoint chairpersons.
Course outline
Day 1 – The disciplinary code and fair procedure
The law behind workplace discipline
- Unfair dismissal and unfair labour practice under the Labour Relations Act
- Schedule 8: the Code of Good Practice: Dismissal
- Substantive and procedural fairness, explained with case examples
- How the CCMA and bargaining councils assess a dismissal
Your disciplinary code and procedure
- The purpose of a code: correction, consistency and clarity
- Categories of offence and the sanctions guide
- Progressive discipline and when to depart from it
- Procedures for dismissible and non-dismissible offences
- Reviewing and monitoring how the code is applied in practice
Choosing the right route
- Misconduct compared with poor performance and ill health
- When a formal hearing is the wrong tool
- Identifying and classifying the transgression
Before the hearing
- What a sound investigation looks like
- Precautionary suspension
- Charges that are specific and clear
- Notice, time to prepare, representation and interpretation
- Appointing an impartial chairperson and handling conflicts of interest
Day 2 – Chairing the hearing
The chairperson's role
- Impartiality, independence and an open mind
- Controlling the proceedings without taking over the case
- Managing representatives, interpreters and emotions in the room
- Keeping an accurate record of the hearing
Opening and preliminary issues
- Opening the hearing and explaining the employee's rights
- Requests for postponement and for legal representation
- Objections to the charges or to the chairperson
- Proceeding when the employee does not attend
- Taking the plea
Evidence and witnesses
- Direct, circumstantial, documentary and hearsay evidence
- Leading evidence, cross-examination and re-examination
- Questions from the chair: when and how to ask them
- Judging credibility and probability
The finding
- Weighing the evidence on a balance of probabilities
- Separating the finding on guilt from the sanction stage
- Writing clear reasons for the finding
Sanction and outcome
- Mitigating and aggravating factors
- Consistency, past practice and the parity principle
- Whether the employment relationship can continue
- Alternatives to dismissal
- Informing the employee and recording the decision
Day 3 – Mock hearings and what follows
Preparing the mock hearing
- Case packs based on common misconduct scenarios
- Allocating roles: chairperson, initiator, employee, representative and witnesses
- Preparing questions and evidence
Mock hearings
- Each delegate chairs a stage of the hearing
- Observers score procedure, control and fairness
- Facilitator feedback after each round
Writing the outcome
- Drafting the finding and sanction from the mock hearing
- Peer review against a checklist
- Common weaknesses in written outcomes
Representing an employee
- The role of a fellow employee or shop steward
- Preparing a defence and testing the employer's evidence
- Arguing mitigation
Appeals and the CCMA
- Internal appeals
- Referral of a dismissal dispute and the time limits that apply
- Conciliation, arbitration and con-arb
- What a commissioner looks for in the hearing record
- The chairperson as a witness at arbitration
How it is delivered
Three days, 08:30-16:00. In person at your offices anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online. One delegate or a group of up to about 20; the mock hearings can follow your own disciplinary code. Workbook, chairperson's checklist, outcome template and case packs included. We deliver it at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and anywhere else in South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online for teams in different places.
What our clients say
“We were highly impressed by the high caliber of the training provided. The facilitator demonstrated a deep level of expertise that added significant value to the sessions.”
“The course was efficiently scheduled and planned around our timetable. We were impressed by the quality of training given.”
“[The organisation] was highly satisfied with the work conducted … demonstrated a high level of professionalism when conducting the training and deadline driven. Quality material and well-designed course content was utilised.”
Frequently asked questions
Do you run the course at our premises?
Yes. We train on site anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online.
How many delegates can attend?
One delegate up to a group of about 20. Groups of six or more get the most from the mock hearings.
Is the course accredited?
No. It is a non-accredited short course and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
Can the course follow our disciplinary code?
Yes. Send us your code and procedure and the facilitator uses them for the examples, checklists and mock hearings.
Is there a shorter version?
Effective Disciplinary Hearing Training is a two-day course on the whole disciplinary process for managers and HR. This three-day course concentrates on the chairperson and adds a full practice day.
Can you run this course in Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban?
Yes. We train on site at your offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and across South Africa, at a BOTI venue in Johannesburg, or live online so a team spread over several offices can attend together.
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