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Grievances

1. Document Purpose

1.1. Document Outline

The document starts with an overview of basic functionality within the Employee Relations Module. The disciplinary process has two legs namely, Disciplinary Standard and Disciplinary Advanced.

The dispute process and grievance process forms part of the disciplinary process and will be discussed. The last topic to be discussed is master data and setup.

2. The Employee Relations Module

2.1. Introduction

The Signify Software Employee Relations (ER) Module is designed to assist with the recording and storing of information that relate to inadequate performance and misconduct of employees whilst they are at work. It should be noted that this module should not be used as a guide regarding ER matters as the primary function is to record events and outcomes that have already happened.

This manual will guide system users and administrators through the different options and ways to record events related to employee performance. Each step will be outlined and discussed – where needed terms will be clarified.

The system compartmentalises IR into 5 sections. Each of these sections will be discussed separately, although it should be mentioned that they are interlinked.

  1. Disciplinary Standard
  2. Disciplinary Advanced
  3. Dispute
  4. Grievance

3. Disciplinary Standard - Process

3.1. Introduction

Disciplinary Standard is ideally suited for recording events where the disciplinary action was swift and decisive and where no further repercussions are expected. It is essentially a simplified way to record any disciplinary events.

The Disciplinary Standard leg of the module is used to record disciplinary actions that were taken against employees. It does not require the user to record the employee’s offence in as much detail as the Disciplinary Advanced approach.

3.2. Add a Record

Navigation

To navigate to the module, select Manage Employees then search for the employee. From there, select action then view/edit. Navigate to the employee relations item | Disciplinary Standard | Details

To add a record, click on the “Add” button. This will open the “Details Window.” Once this window has loaded, complete the applicable information:

  • Short Description of Disciplinary Action: This short description should guide any user in identifying the Disciplinary Action (e.g. Verbal warning for arriving late).
  • Date of Disciplinary Action: Click on the calendar icon to select the date upon which the disciplinary action was taken.
  • Expiry Date: If the disciplinary action has an expiry date, click on the calendar icon to select the date upon which the disciplinary action will expire.
  • Action Taken: A full description of the action taken should be provided here.
  • Case Number: The case number or reference number for the disciplinary action – usually this is provided from the HR Manager or the General Manager.
  • Description of Disciplinary Action: This is an open field that allows the user to type a full description of the action taken against the employee.

4. Disciplinary Advanced - Process

4.1. Introduction

Disciplinary Advanced is a more complex section and allows administrators and users of the system to record offences, disciplinary actions, and legal processes and proceedings. It is a dynamic section that will apply guidelines based on information provided to load and display other sections.

Disciplinary Advanced is developed to record every aspect of the disciplinary process.

Fundamentally, the disciplinary process consists of 3 steps. The first step is to record an event that occurred, the second is to furnish the event with details and the last step is to record any disputes.

4.2. Add a Disciplinary Record Item

To add a new disciplinary record, click “Disciplinary Advanced”, then click “Add” to add a new record item. Once the “Details” page has loaded, the events and details of the disciplinary action can be loaded.

Records that have been saved will display on the Disciplinary List window. The record will show the IR Category, Outcome, Action Date, Action Outcome Date, Referred, Add/ Edit Dispute and Delete Columns.

4.3. Disciplinary Record Details

The same process is used to add a disciplinary record for both Disciplinary Standard and Advanced processes. A more detailed explanation of the fields is given below:

  • Action Date: The official start date of the disciplinary process.
  • IR Category: The category relates to the reason for the disciplinary action, such as “Misconduct”. The IR Category determines the available tabs, this is configured in master data.
  • Short description: A description of the events that lead to the disciplinary action.
  • Process followed: A formal legal/organisational process or an informal process can be indicated.
  • Line Manager: The employee’s line manager.
  • Suspended: If the employee was suspended, it should be indicated in this section.
  • Date of Suspension: The date of suspension is the first day that the employee is required to stay away from the work place.
  • Date of Return: The date of return is the first day that the employee should report for duty.
  • Organisation Unit: The employee’s organisational unit.
  • Province: The province of the organisation unit.
  • Location of incident: List the location (i.e. the name of the branch, store or business unit where the offence took place).
  • Disciplinary Outcome: The decision that was made regarding the process forward. This includes termination of employment, suspension or no penalty to the employee.
  • Action Outcome Date: This is the date on which the outcome was decided (not necessarily the date on which is was issued).
  • Sanction: Sanctions may range from first time verbal warnings to dismissal without compensation. The sanction is recorded in the “Outcome” dropdown and the details thereof should be recorded in the Sanctions section.
  • Date Issued: The date on which the sanction is given to the employee can be recorded here.
  • Date employee signed: The date on which the employee signed the sanction.
  • Override Expiry Date/Period: Each sanction will have a pre-defined expiry date. If a longer or shorter period is agreed upon, the new expiry date can be added.
  • Outcome Details: Record the Outcome details in the textbox provided.
  • Feedback Date: Should the employee require feedback, it can be indicated by selecting the feedback date.
  • Dispute Outcome: If there is a dispute lodged against the employer or a manager, the outcome of the dispute will be displayed in the Dispute Outcome section. This is recorded automatically when the details of a dispute are saved to the system.
  • Status of record: If the disciplinary process has been completed, the status “Completed” should be selected. If the disciplinary process is still ongoing, then the status “Not Complete” should be selected. By selecting “Not Complete”, the record can be saved without completing the mandatory fields.

Depending on the configuration of the module, a selection of tabs is available.

The accessible tabs are determined by the selected IR Category. Ideally, with Poor Performance, you will include a Poor Performance Improvement Plan, however, for Desertion this would not be required.

  • Charges: This tab allows you to add the Charge Code, Incident Date and Allegations to the record.
  • Counselling: Details of individuals involved in counselling session(s).
  • Hearing: Date, Time, Venue, Chairperson and other details related to the hearing can be added here.
  • Consultation: Details regarding the request for consultation and the outcome of the consultation session can be added here.
  • Legal Payments: When legal costs are incurred, these costs are recorded here.
  • Risk Assessment: Details of events that pose a risk to a favorable outcome.
  • Documents: Documents such as notice hearings, written warnings and outcome details can be loaded onto the system by using this tab.
  • Poor Performance Improvement: Description of the Improvement Plan for the employee (ideally to be linked to the Learning Management Module).

4.4. Charges

To record the charges that were laid against the employee, click on the Charges Tab.

The search function at the top of the page can be used to search offences that have already been loaded.

To add a new record, click “Add”. A popup window will load where the user can record the details of the record. Existing records can be removed by clicking on the text box next to the charge and they by clicking “Delete”. To return to the previous screen, click “Back to List”.

  • Charge Code: Click on the Charge Code Dropdown to add the charge code. It is related to the form of misconduct and provides a broad overview of the incident. It can be any of the offences below.
    • Time Related offence
    • Industrial Action
    • Dishonesty
    • Breach of Policy
    • Sleeping on Duty
    • Offences can be added in Master Data should it be required.
  • Incident Date: Click on the calendar icon to add the date of the offence.
  • Allegations against Employee: Use the textbox to provide a description of the charges against the employee.

4.5. Counselling

If it is decided that an employee requires counselling, this tab can be used to record the details of the individuals who are involved.

Should the employer choose to have a counselling session, the details of all parties involved can be captured on the system. As the counselling session may be confidential, the system does not require the user to capture the details of the counselling session itself.

The fields that need to be completed are described below:

  • Manager: The employee’s manger will be pre-assigned, but can be changed. The manager’s contact number can be added manually should it not already be loaded onto the system.
  • Representative: The employee may opt to have a representative present. If the representative is an employee of the organisation, he/she can be added. If an external representative is present, their details can be added. The user can record the name and surname of the representative, their email address as well as their contact number.
  • Initiator, Witness: The same process can be followed for the Initiator, as well as Witness 1 - 5.
    • Remember that the initiator is the employer’s representative (who would be opposing the representative; or the employee’s representative. Both individuals may be legal representatives).
    • Witnesses details are recorded if they need to be contacted at a later stage.
  • Notes: Should there be a need to record specific notes, these can be added in the “Notes” section.
  • Follow-up Required: The tick box icon allows the user to record the date of the next session. This is determined during the first counselling session.
  • Review Date: The Review Date is the day on which the employee’s progress will be discussed in a follow up session. It will only be loaded once the “Follow-up” tick box icon has been marked.
  • Follow up: Click “Add” to record the goals or the plan of action that was agreed upon in the first session. A popup window will load where the details can be loaded. 

The Follow-Up Detail page allows users to record the proposed process for going forward.

  • Goals / Plan of action: This text box is used to record the set goals that were agreed upon during the session.
  • Follow-up required: If follow up is required after the action plan has been implemented, click on the tick box icon to record the requirement.
    • This will prompt the system to load a calendar icon which allows the user to load when the follow up session is scheduled for.
  • Is employee fit to continue? If it is decided that the employee is fit to continue with his/her work, then click on the tick box icon next to “Yes”. If it is decided that the employee is not fit for duty, then click on the tick box icon next to “No”.

4.6. Hearing

If an employee has multiple charges against him/her, or a major offence occurred, the organisation can choose to hold a disciplinary hearing.

All the details of a hearing can be recorded from this page onwards.

  • Date the completed investigation pack was submitted to HR: Before a hearing can be scheduled, an investigation pack needs to be submitted to HR – this can be loaded at the “Documents” tab, it will be discussed at a later stage. Click on the calendar icon to indicate the date on which HR received the investigation pack.
  • Date of Hearing: Click on the calendar icon next to the “Date of Hearing” to indicate the date on which the hearing occurred.
  • Time of Hearing: Record the time that the hearing started by filling in the textbox. Note that a 24-hour format should be used i.e. from 00:00 to 23:59.
  • Actual time spent in hearing: Record the length of the hearing by indicating the “Hours” and Minutes” in the separate section.
  • Venue: This is an open field where the venue in which the hearing is conducted can be recorded.
  • Initiator/Complainant: This individual is the representative for the organisation. He /she can be selected by clicking on the hand icon. To add an external Representative such as a labour consultant or a lawyer, click on the tick box icon next to the hand icon. Doing this will open 2 textboxes, where the Initiator/ Complainant’s name and email can be added.
  • Chairperson: This is the individual who facilitates the hearing, they are not representing anyone in the hearing. The chairperson can be added in the same way that the Initiator/Complainant is added.
  • Representative: This is the individual who attends the hearing on behalf of the employee whom against the charge was laid. They can be added in the same manner that the Initiator/Complainant is added.

4.7. Consultation

When the employer and employee seek to engage in discussion regarding the events and process forward, they enter into a consultative process. The goal of the consultation session is to find a solution that would benefit both parties; the goal of the system is to record the events. Consultation will only be recorded after the counselling or hearing sessions have concluded.

The Consultation Tab allows users to record specific details should either of the parties opt for consultation.

  • Request for Consultation Date: The date on which either of the parties notified the other party that they wish to engage in consultation.
  • Consultation Date: The date of the consolation session.
  • Consultation Chairperson: This individual can be selected from the list of current employees. This will require the user to record the chairperson’s full name and email address.
    • Note that the system will not block the Consultation Chairperson from being the same person as the Hearing Chairperson, but the system will flag that they are the same.
  • Reason for Consultation: The goal of the consultation session is recorded and more than one reason can be selected at a time.
  • Reason for Consultation (Additional): This tab should be used if there is any other reasons for consolation.
  • Consultation Outcome: The outcome should be recorded by clicking on the dropdown and selecting either “Decision Upheld” or “Re-Instatement”.
    • Re-Instatement Value: If the outcome “Re-Instatement” is selected, the system would require a “Re-Instatement Value”. This is any amount payable to the employee over and above his/her salary.
    • Re-Instatement Date: The date upon which the employee is to return to work can be recorded the start date is selected.

When the services of an external consultant were used during the any of the Counselling, Hearing or Consultation sessions, the details of their payments can be recorded on the Legal Payments section.

Once all of the Legal Representative’s details have been loaded, a summary table will load on the Legal Payments page.

The Search function is a quick way to find any legal payments associated with this record. It is available when the Legal Payments Tab is loaded.

  • Search: This is an open field and will look for any key words or parts thereof that can be found in the summary table. This function will look for key words in “Advisor Name” “Description of Service” and “Invoice Number”.
  • Amount Between: This option allows users to specify a minimum and maximum amount paid to a legal advisor. The system will return all records with payments that fall within the criteria. Payments that match the exact amount specified, or that fall within the payment range will be returned. Note that “The Amount Between” value should be a numeric value; therefore, it is not allowed to indicate currency such as Rand “R”.
  • Payment Date Between: To find a record on a specific date, click on the calendar icons and select the date range. Records that were made on the day’s specified, or between the two dates will be returned.
  • Search / Clear: Click on “Search” to search for the specified record or “Clear” to clear the fields and restart with the search.
  • The search function will return all records that match the criteria – click on the record to view and edit it.

4.10. Risk Assessment

Risk assessment allows users to indicate factors that may place the employer at a disadvantage during any disciplinary process. These factors are identified as risks should there be a CCMA/Labour Court case.

To indicate that a specific factor is a risk, click on the tick box icon next to the risk factor.

  • Procedure not followed: This is to indicate that the user is aware of a process/procedure that is outlined in the company policies or that is stipulated by legislation was not followed.
  • Witnesses no longer employed / available: This is used to indicate that one or more of the witnesses are no longer available.
  • Substantively unfair: Use this to indicate that the punishment/outcome does not fit the crime e.g. an employee was fired for accidentally bumping into a manager.
  • HR not consulted: When decisions were made and processes followed without consulting an HR manager or ER Specialist.
  • Evidence lost: When evidence is no longer available or of use by the employer.

Click on “Save” to save the record, or on “Back to List” to return without saving.

4.11. Documents

Documents that are associated with the Charges, Counselling, Hearing, Consultation, Legal Payments or Risk Assessment can be loaded on this tab. These include Notices, Requests, Court Documents, or any other document that relates to the Disciplinary Action.

4.12. Poor Performance Improvement

To record the conversation and outcome of the poor performance improvement discussion, click on the “Add” button. This opens a pop-up window where improvement plan details are recorded.

After the Poor Performance Improvement Plan has been loaded the record will show on the Poor Performance Improvement Window. Click on the Grey area to open the Poor Performance Improvement Plan pop-up window.

4.12.1. Poor Performance Improvement Plan

  • Description: A description of the Performance Improvement Plan can be added in the “Description” textbox.
  • Due Date: The due date should be added by clicking on the calendar icon and selecting the date upon which the improvement plan should conclude.
  • Addressed: If the improvement plan has already been actioned, click on the “Addressed” tick box icon. 

4.13. Conclusion

Once the details have been completed, the system can produce a full record of each employee’s disciplinary history. These reports can be found in the reports module (covered separately).

5. Dispute

5.1. Introduction

Dispute, similar to Disciplinary Advanced, allows users and administrators to record disputes that the employee make against the employer or a specific individual working for the employer.

Disputes are a natural part of the disciplinary process. Should an employee dispute his/her disciplinary record, it can be recorded on the Signify Software HR Platform. Disputes are lodged against a specific disciplinary action but can be recorded in cases of historical data, separate from the disciplinary actions already loaded onto the system.

5.2. Dispute

Navigation

To navigate to the section, select Manage Employees then search for the employee. From there, select action then view/edit. Navigate to the employee relations item | Disciplinary Advanced | Dispute

When an employee disputes the outcome of a Disciplinary Process, the record should be loaded from the “Disciplinary Advanced” window. Click on “Dispute” to link the dispute to a IR Category.

Disputes can also be recorded on its own. That means the dispute does not have an ER Category as reference. This can be done by clicking on the “Dispute” button when the “Manage Employees” window have loaded

5.3. Referral

Once the Dispute button is pressed, the system will load the “Referral Page”. It allows users to store all the details associated with disputes/referrals.

  • Dispute Against: This record who the dispute is lodged against. Dispute Against Company should be selected when an employee/individual lodged a dispute against the company. Dispute against Individual should be selected when a dispute is lodged against a specific individual within the organisation. For example, this could be for harassment cases or bullying by a manager.
  • Individual’s Details: If dispute against individual is selected, the system will request the “Individual’s Details” – Click on the hand icon to open the Employee Search window. From this window select the correct individual.
  • Dispute Reason: The “Dispute Reason” is the motivation behind the employee’s dispute.
    • “Dispute Reasons” are manged by administrators.
  • Dispute Description: The “Dispute Description” allows the user to record details regarding the dispute.
  • Grounds for Referral: The “Grounds for referral” are either “Substantive Grounds”, “Procedural Grounds”, or both.
    • Substantive Grounds should be selected when the Dispute Reason relates to Fairness – remember that in these cases, the penalty must fit the crime.
    • Procedural Grounds should be selected when the correct procedure was not selected – these include both the company policies and procedures as well as the procedures stipulated by the Labour Relations Act.
  • Referral Date: The “Referral Date” is the date on which the referral was made, in other words, it is the date upon which the dispute was lodged. The dispute can be laid against the company or an individual at the CCMA or the Labour Court.
  • Date Received: The “Date Received” and “Time Received” is the exact date and time that the organisation became aware of the referral.
  • Details: The “Details of person who received the application” can be selected by on the hand icon and opening the Employee Search window. From this window, the correct individual can be selected. Click on the tick box icon to select an external individual such as a company representative or external labour consultant.
  • Con-Arb: If Con-Arb is granted, it can be indicated by selecting the correct option from the dropdown. If Con-Arb is granted, it means that after Conciliation the case may proceed to arbitration directly after the session. As there will be no warning and no preparation, the “Arbitration Notification” and “Pre-Arbitration” tabs are not made available.

5.4. Conciliation

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Disciplinary Advanced | Dispute | Select IR Category | Conciliation

The conciliation page allows the user to record the details of any conciliation attempt, including the first step in a CCMA case.

  • Date: Click on the calendar icon to record the date on which the “Notification of Set-Down Date” was received.
  • Date: Click on the calendar icon to record the “Actual Set-down Date”. If the actual set down date is received in less than 14 days of the received notification, the company may request postponement. A separate button will be loaded that gives the user access to load the postponement details.
  • Request Postponement: If the “Request Postponement” button is clicked, a new window will open that allows the user to load the details of the postponement.
    • Once the request postponement details have been loaded, it will be recorded on the Conciliation Page.
    • These details cannot be amended after it has been saved.
  • Case Number: Record the case number e.g. CCMA20170725/10589.
  • Conciliation Summary: The user needs to record a brief description of the events at the set-down.
  • Resolved: If the matter is resolved and both parties are satisfied with the outcome of the Conciliation session, click on the tick box icon next to “Resolved”. This will open the “Conciliation Outcome” Dropdown
  • Clear Conciliation: To clear the page and restart with the process, click on “Clear Conciliation”. Note this will also clear all work done on previous occasions.

The process forward is determined by the options selected on the Conciliation page. If the “Resolved” button is ticked, the system will save the event and load the “Labour Court” tab in addition to the other tabs already loaded. If “Resolved” is not indicated, the system will load the Arbitration Notification, Pre-Arbitration, Legal Payments, and Labour Court pages in addition to the other tabs already loaded.

These Tabs are discussed once Conciliation Outcome and Postponement Details have been discussed.

5.4.1. Conciliation Outcome

Conciliation Outcome popup window allows the user to select different outcomes that resulted from the Conciliation sitting. These are “Re-Instatement”, “Re-Employment”, “Re-instatement with back pay”, “Settlement”, and “Withdrawal”.

  • Re-Instatement: This is the default option and indicates that an employee is to be re-appointed in any exactly similar position with the same responsibilities, conditions and privileges that was associated with it– if this option is chosen, the system requires the user to complete the “Outcome Date” and indicate if there is “Retrospective Back Pay”.
  • Outcome Date: Click on the calendar icon to record the day on which the outcome was decided upon.
  • Retrospective Back Pay: If agreed, but not required for the employee to receive payment for the period from suspension until re-instatement, it should be indicated by clicking on the tick box icon next to Retrospective Back Pay.
  • Re-Employment: If an employee is to be appointed in his former position, this option should be selected and the user will be requested to provide the “Re-Employment Date” in addition to the information required above.
  • Re-employment Date: Click on the calendar icon to record the date on which the employee is to return to work.
  • Re-Instatement with back pay: If it is decided by the commissioner that the employee should receive payment for the period from suspension until re-instatement, the amount should be indicated in addition to the information required by “Outcome Date’ and the “Retrospective Back Pay”.
  • Outcome Value: The Outcome Value should be a numeric value; therefore, it is not allowed to indicate currency such as Rand “R”.
  • Settlement: If the employee and employer decide to settle the matter, it can be recorded by selecting “Settlement”. This will load “Outcome Value” and “Other Settlement”.
    • Outcome Value: If there is an agreement on a financial settlement, the amount can be recorded here. The Outcome Value should be a numeric value; therefore, it is not allowed to indicate currency such as Rand “R”.
    • Other Settlement: If there are other conditions linked to the settlement, they can be indicated in this tick box icon. These can include a different reason for employment termination, rules about reference provision etc.
  • Withdrawal: If the employee withdraws his/her case against the employer, it can be indicated by selecting this option. It will still require the user to provide the outcome date.

5.4.2. Postponement Details

If postponement was requested by either party, the details of the request can be recorded on this page.

  • Previous Set-down Date:
  • The “Previous Set-down Date” will be pre-loaded with the page.
  • New Set-down Date:
  • Click on the calendar icon to record the “New Set-down Date”.
  • Requested By:
  • The individual who submitted the postponement’s details should be recorded here.
  • Granted:
  • Click on the tick box icon next to “Granted” if postponement was granted.
  • Postponement Type:
  • The Postponement Type relates to the party that requested postponement. If it was the organisation that selected postponement, then select “Company”, if it was the employee, select “individual”, there is also an option for “other” should that be the case.
  • Reason for Postponement:
  • The reason for postponement is the same reason that was provided to the commissioner.
  • Parties Notified:
  • Here the user can list the individuals who were notified.

5.5. Labour Court

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Disciplinary Advanced | Dispute | Select IR Category | Labour Court

It is important to note that the Labour Court Tab moves position based on the Conciliation Outcome.

If a CCMA case is indicated as resolved, it can still be referred directly to the Labour Court. Major Labour cases such as mass retrenchments are also referred directly to the Labour Court without going through Mediation and Arbitration. In such cases, this tab remains available to record the events.

  • Referred to Labour Court: If a case is referred to the labour court, the first step is to indicate it by clicking on the tick box icon next to “Referred to Labour Court”.
  • Application for Rescission: If there was an application for Rescission by either party (i.e. the employer or the employee disagreed with a previous judgement and applied for Rescission of award or outcome) it can be indicated by clicking on the tick box icon next to the “Application for Rescission”.
  • Referred by: The party that first approached the Labour Court is the Referred by party. Click on the dropdown to select either the “Applicant”, “Employer” or “Third Party”.
  • Date Referred: The date referred is the date upon which the Labour Court issued a summons. Click on the calendar icon to select the “Date Referred”.
  • CCMA Case: Add the CCMA Case number in the provided textbox – the case number will be on any document from the CCMA.
  • Initiated Review: Indicate who initiated a review of the CCMA case by clicking on the tick box icon next to either Company or Applicant.
  • Representative: The employer’s representative (Legal Aid, Layer, Legal Assistant etc.) can be recorded in this textbox.
  • Name of Judge: The judge assigned to the case can be recorded in this textbox.
  • Court Date 1: Click on the calendar icon to select the first court date.
  • Court Date 2: Click on the calendar icon to select the second court date.
  • Court Date 3: Click on the calendar icon to select the third court date.
  • Court Date 4: Click on the calendar icon to select the fourth court date.
  • Outcome in favour of: The text dropdown allows for two options – Company and Applicant.
    • Company: Complete the “Outcome Details” to finish the process.
    • Applicant: If judgement was made in favour of the applicant (or the employee) the case has been lost and more details need to be recorded. These are the “Reason for case lost”, the “Conditions of Ruling” and “Outcome Details”. Each textbox should be completed with the information provided by the Labour Court.
  • Outcome Details: Use the text box to record the minutes of the judgement.
  • Clear Labour Court: To clear the page and restart with the process, click on “Clear Labour Court”. Note this will also clear all work done on a previous occasion.

5.6. Arbitration Notification

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Disciplinary Advanced | Dispute | Select IR Category | Arbitration Notification

Should the Dispute not need to approach the Labour Court and if there is a possibility that it can be resolved in the CCMA, then the “Arbitration Notification”, “Pre-Arbitration” and “Arbitration” tabs should be used.

Arbitration Notification is the first step in the Arbitration Process. Arbitration can be requested by either party.

  • Request Arbitration: If the employer opts for Arbitration, as opposed to the employee, it can be indicated by clicking on the tick box icon.
  • Date of Application: The date upon which arbitration was requested can be added by clicking on the calendar icon and selecting the date.
  • Date Received: The date upon which arbitration was granted can be added by clicking on the calendar icon and selecting the date.
  • Rescission Requested / Outcome: If an outcome has been awarded during Conciliation, the award can be challenged. The outcome of the challenge should be documented by clicking on the dropdown and selecting “Granted” for a successful application or “Refused” if the application was unsuccessful.
  • Rescission Date: The date of the Rescission of award was granted should be added by clicking on the calendar icon and selecting the date.
  • Con-arb Date: If Con-arb was granted based on the Rescission of Award, the new date can be added by clicking on the calendar icon and selecting the date.
  • Pre-arbitration Requested: If the Rescission of Award was successful, Pre-Arbitration can be requested and indicated by clicking on the tick box icon.

5.7. Pre-Arbitration

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Disciplinary Advanced | Dispute | Select IR Category | Pre-Arbitration

If pre-arbitration was requested and granted, the details of the Pre-Arbitration Session can be recorded on this tab.

  • Date Requested: The date when Pre-Arbitration was requested at the CCMA can be recorded by clicking on the calendar icon and selecting the date.
  • Actual Pre-Arbitration Date: The date of the Pre-Arbitration session can be recorded by clicking on the calendar icon and selecting the date.
  • Pre-Arbitration Requested by: The name of the individual who requested or proposed Pre-Arbitration should be recorded in the textbox.
  • Reason for Pre-Arbitration: The reason for Pre-Arbitration will be on the Notice of Hearing from the CCMA or in the request to the CCMA.
  • Parties Notified: This textbox allows the user to list all the parties that were notified.
  • Granted: Use the tick box icon to indicate that Pre-Arbitration was granted by the CCMA.
  • Venue: The name of the court and room or the name of the place where the session was held can be recorded here.
  • Date of Event: The date that the Pre-Arbitration hearing took place can be recorded by clicking on the calendar icon and selecting the date.
  • Procedural issues: Any procedural matters that were raised during the session should be recorded in the textbox provided.
  • Substantive Issues: If there were questions raised relating to fairness (i.e. substantive issues), these should be recorded in the textbox provided.
  • Other Issues: If there were any unforeseen matters raised during the Pre-Arbitration Session, they should be recorded here.
  • HR Business Partner Source – Internal: The employer’s representative should be recorded in this section – an internal HR Business Partner (HRBP) can be selected by clicking on the tick box icon next internal.
    • The name of the HRBP can be selected by clicking on the hand icon next to name.
    • The position can be typed in the Position Space provided.
    • Their contact number should also be recorded in the event that they need to be contacted again.
  • HR Business Partner Source – External: If an external consultant was used during the process, their details can also be recorded by clicking on the “External” tick box icon.
    • Their Name, Surname, Position and Contact number can be provided in the textboxes.
  • Pre-Arbitration Resolved: If the Pre-Arbitration session was successful and a satisfactory resolution was found, the “Pre-Arbitration Resolved” button should be ticked.
    • This will open the “Outcome Window”.
  • Request Postponement: Click on “Request Postponement” to open the “Postponement Detail” window.

5.8. Arbitration

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Disciplinary Advanced | Dispute | Select IR Category | Arbitration

If the disciplinary process went as far as Arbitration, then the details of the hearing can be recorded on this page.

  • Notification Received of Set down Date: Click on the calendar icon to record when the notice was received.
  • Venue: The physical address can be added in the “Venue” textbox.
  • Date of event: Click on the calendar icon to record when the arbitration session was held.
  • Assigned Commissioner: The commissioner’s details should be recorded on this page. The system allows users to record both internal and external commissioners to differentiate between internal arbitration attempts and arbitration that was attempted through the CCMA. For an external commissioner, click on the “External” tick box icon to load the required details include the below.
    • The commissioner’s full name and surname.
    • The commissioner’s email address.
    • The commissioner’s contact number.
  • If the Commissioner is already loaded onto the system, his/her details can be loaded by clicking on the hand icon and selecting the correct individual form the provided list. The system will further provide a text box where the commissioner’s contact details can be stored.
  • Assign HR business partner to attend to matter: The HRBP’s details should be recorded on this page. The system allows users to record both internal and external HRBP’s. For an external HRBP, click on the “External” tick box icon to load the required details include the below.
    • The HRBP’s full name and surname.
    • The HRBP’s email address.
    • The HRBP’s contact number.
  • If the HRBP is already loaded onto the system, his/her details can be loaded by clicking on the hand icon and selecting the correct individual form the provided list. The system will still provide a space to record the commissioner’s contact number.
  • Actual Set-Down Date: Click on the calendar icon to record the date of the arbitration hearing.
  • Request Postponement: If the “Request Postponement” button is clicked, a popup window will load that allows the user to load the details of the postponement request. The Postponement Detail Popup window have already been discussed earlier.
  • Arbitration Outcome: The outcome and decisions made during the Arbitration Hearing should be recorded in this tab.
  • Outcome: Select an outcome from the pre-defined outcomes Value:

If there is a settlement amount or if the Arbitration Hearing concludes that there are monies owing, then the amount can be recorded in this tab. The Outcome Value should be a numeric value; therefore, it is not allowed to indicate currency such as Rand “R”.

  • Outcome Date: The date upon which the Arbitration Hearing was concluded and the outcome provided.
  • Decision Upheld: If the original Conciliation attempt decision was upheld (i.e. the Arbitration hearing concludes that the outcome of the conciliation hearing should remain the same) then the tick box icon should be ticked.
  • Case Postponement Reason: If the hearing was postponed at any time before the outcome was made, it can be indicated by ticking on one of the tick box icons.
    • Date Postponed: If either party requested a change in date prior to the start of the hearing, and it is decided during the hearing to change the date, this option should be selected. The calendar icon will appear and allow the user to record the new outcome date.
    • Company Request: If the employer requests postponement during the hearing and it is granted, this option should be used.
    • Applicant Request: If the employee requests postponement during the hearing and it is granted, this option should be used.
    • Commissioner Instruction: If the commissioner decides that the hearing should be postponed for any reason what so ever. A text box will appear which allows the user to record the Commissioner’s Instructions.
  • No Cost awarded: If the hearing concludes without any compensation awarded to the employee, this tick box icon should be ticked.

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Disciplinary Advanced | Dispute | Select IR Category | Legal Payments

At any point in time the cost of Legal Advice can be recorded by the system. To record a payment made to a legal representative or for legal advice, click on the “Add” button. This will load a pop-up screen where the details of the legal costs can be captured. The pop-up screen is called the Legal Payment Detail Page.

If the “Back to List” button is clicked on, the system will close the page without saving and return to the “Disciplinary Advanced” window.

Once all of the Legal Representative’s details have been loaded, a summary table will load on the page.

If the summary record was loaded incorrectly, it can be deleted by clicking on the “Delete” tick box icon and then on the “Delete” button.

To edit a record, click anywhere on the grey area of the record. This will open the Legal Payments Detail Page where amendments can be made.

The Search function is a quick way to find any legal payments associated with this record. It is readily available when the Legal Payments tab is loaded.

  • Search: This is an open field and will look for any key words or parts thereof that can be found in the summary table. This function will look for key words in “Advisor Name” “Description of Service” and “Invoice Number”.
  • Amount Between: This option allows users to specify a minimum and maximum amount paid to a legal advisor. The system will return all records with payments that fall within the criteria. Payments that match the exact amount specified, or that fall within the payment range will be returned. Note that “The Amount Between” value should be a numeric value; therefore, it is not allowed to indicate currency such as Rand “R”.
  • Payment Date Between: To find a record on a specific date, click on the calendar icons and select the date range. Records that were made on the day’s specified, or between the two dates will be returned.
  • Click on “Search” to search for the specified record or “Clear” to clear the fields and start over.

5.10. Documents

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Disciplinary Advanced | Dispute | Select IR Category | Documents

Documents that are associated with the dispute can be loaded on this tab. These include Notices, Requests, Court Documents, or any other document that relates to the dispute.

5.11. Conclusion

Dispute and Disciplinary Advanced account for all off the disciplinary records. Together they enable managers to keep track of the activates that are associated with poor performance.

6. Grievances

6.1. Introduction

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Grievances

Grievances are complaints, protests or objections that employees raise against other employees, managers or the organisation itself. The system can record grievances against individuals and the organisation.

Grievances are loaded against the organisation or specific individuals. This is a less dynamic section.

6.2. Record a Grievance

To record a grievance, click on the “Add” button. This will load the Grievance Detail window where the grievance can be recorded. Once a grievance has been recorded, it will be displayed in a summary table.

To edit a grievance, click on the grey area of the grievance to load the Grievance Detail window. To find a grievance, use the Search Function as discussed below.

If a grievance was loaded incorrectly, it can be deleted by clicking on the “Delete” tick box icon and then on the “Delete” button.

6.3. Grievance Detail

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Grievances | Grievance Against | Details

The Grievance Detail window has 2 tabs, namely “Details” and “Documents”. The documents tab only loads once the Details tab has been populated and saved. The Details Tab is discussed below.

To add the details of the grievance, complete the below information:

  • Grievance Against: Use the dropdown to select either “Company” if the grievance is against the employer, or “Individual” if the grievance is against an employee of the company.
    • If “Individual” is selected, the “Individual Details” section will load. Click on the hand icon to select the individual against whom the grievance was made.
  • Grievance Description: Use the text box to provide a full description of the grievance.
  • Process Followed: A formal legal/organisational process or an informal process can be indicated.
  • Date of Grievance: Use the calendar icon to select the date upon which the event that lead to the grievance occurred.
  • Date Resolved: If the grievance was resolved, use the calendar icon to indicate the day when it was resolved. Note that the Resolved date has to be on the same day or after the “Date of Grievance”.
  • Outcome: Use the text box to provide a full description of the outcome.

6.4. Documents Tab

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Grievances | Grievance Against | Documents

Grievance records can be stored safely on the system.

7. The Disciplinary Detail Report

The Disciplinary Detail Report can be used to obtain details of each disciplinary step for all the employees on a specific schema. It also provides timelines from one action to the next. This allows managers to gauge the efficiency of their ER processes and to take corrective steps should it be needed.

The filter option provides system administrators with the tools needed to generate any disciplinary record. The use of these records varies from one company to the next. They can be used to provide an overview of all the disciplinary actions taken against a single employee, as a database to store all disciplinary action or to monitor trends that managers notice.

To generate the report, follow the below path.

On the portal | Main Menu | Reports | Disciplinary Reports | Disciplinary Detail Report

Any of the below criteria can be used. If none of the fields are populated with information, the system will generate a report for all employees, from the entire duration of the system’s use.

  • Search: This is a free text box that will search for the text in the employee’s details. Details of employees who match the information provided will be generated
  • Disciplinary Action: Use the dropdown to select a type of disciplinary action. Only records of the specified disciplinary action will be loaded.
  • Disciplinary Action Outcome: Specify the outcome of the disciplinary action to filter results based on the outcome. Note that the Disciplinary outcomes available are dependent on the Disciplinary Action selected.
  • Employee Numbers: Specify the employee numbers to limit the results to a specified number of people. Note that there should be no spaces between employee numbers and that only a comma should be used to separate the employees e.g. “employee1,employee2,employee3”
  • Include Terminated Employees: Click on the Tick Box to include terminated employees in the search.
  • Show Additional Disciplinary Detail: Click on the Tick Box to include Consultation Details, Counselling Details, and Hearing Details.
  • Show Dispute Detail: Click on the Tick Box to display the Conciliation details, the Arbitration Notification details, the pre-Arbitration details, the Arbitration details and the Labour Court details.
  • Action (outcome) Date: Click on the calendar icons to select the date range. Only disciplinary action that fall within the specified range will be returned.

Find below a description of the information found on the report.

Report Fields Description 

Disciplinary Reference

A system generated reference code.

Org Path

The organisation path for the individual, given in the following format:

Org Node 1 | Org Node 2 | Org Node 3 | Org Node 4 | Org Node 5 | Org Node 6 | Org Node 7 | Org Node 8 | etc

Turn Around Time from Incident Date to Action Date

The time in days since the first moment that the incident was recorded and the date when the first action was taken.

Turn Around Time from Capturing the Incident Date to Completion Date

The time in days since the first moment that the incident was recorded and the date that the entire process was concluded.

Turn Around Time from HR Submission to Action Outcome Date

The time in days since the first moment that the incident was reported to HR and the date that the process was concluded.

Date the Completed Investigation Pack was Submitted To HR

The date upon which the HR Department received the completed investigation pack.

Consultation

Details regarding the consultation session are provided here.

Counselling

Details regarding the Counselling session are provided here.

Hearing

Details regarding the Hearing session are provided here.

Conciliation

Details about the Conciliation Session can be found here.

Arbitration Notification

Arbitration application and received dates.

Pre-Arbitration

Pre-Arbitration Details will be provided here

Arbitration

Details of the arbitration hearing will be provided here.

Arbitration Outcome Description

A description of the Arbitration hearing will be here.

Labour Court

Details such as the date and Labour Court outcome will be provided here.

8. Master Data

Master Data needs to be populated by the system administrators before any of the sections become functional. It is not accessed when a disciplinary action is recorded and therefore it is required to be completed and updated at all times.

In the following sections, find a summary of the master data used to pre-configure the module.

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Master Data

8.1. Requirements and setup

There are several settings and configurations that need to be completed before this module will be fully functional. This module can be found under Manage Employees | Employee Relations.

The disciplinary process needs to be pre-configured and all the potential outcomes must be defined before it will be functional. Configuration is done in Master Data- it is discussed as the last section of this document.

Ensure that pop-ups are allowed on your web browser – the system will use popup windows during various stages of the disciplinary recording process.

Check that the Disciplinary Module is enabled for users. To enable Disciplinary Standard or Disciplinary Advanced follow the below path.

  • Home | System Administration | Tools | Configuration | Framework | Configuration Settings | Human Resources | Industrial Relations.

Ensure that the Setting Value tick box icons next to “Enable Disciplinary Advanced Menu item”, “Enable Disciplinary Standard menu item” and “Module Active” are ticked.

8.2. Arbitration Outcome

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Master Data | Arbitration Outcome Type

There are 10 possible Arbitration Outcome Types available in the system and these cannot be added to or deleted from. They can however be edited to allow for company terminology.

To edit an outcome type, click anywhere on the grey bar.

8.3. Disciplinary Action

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Master Data | Disciplinary Action

Disciplinary Actions relates to the offence category of the incident. In general, organisations differentiate between a few distinct categories, including Misconduct, Desertion, Incapacity and Disability.

8.4. Disciplinary Action Outcome

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Master Data | Disciplinary Action Outcome

The Disciplinary Action Outcome is used in the Details Tab of the Disciplinary Advanced Section. This is used to define the actions that were taken against the employee as a result of their actions.

8.5. Disciplinary Action/Action outcome Relationship List

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Master Data | Disciplinary Action / Action Outcome Relationship List

The Disciplinary Action Outcome Relationship Page allows administrators to link Disciplinary Categories with Outcome Tabs.

All of the preconfigured details will show in the summary table.

8.6. Disciplinary Action/Action Outcome Relationship Detail

The Disciplinary Action / Action Outcome Relationship Detail window is where the administrator links different actions to open/closed different tabs.

  • Disciplinary Action: Select from the list of Disciplinary Action items that have already been created.
  • Disciplinary Action Outcome: Select the outcome that will be linked to the Disciplinary Action.
  • Expiry Period (Months): Enter the number of months that the record will be valid for. Once the period has expired, it will automatically be removed for the employee’s record.
  • Process: The different tabs that are available on the Signify Software HR Management Module are listed in this section, each with a tick box icon next to it. Click on any of the tick box icons that should be linked to the Disciplinary Action and Disciplinary Action Outcome List. More than one item can be selected. Once this combination is selected in the Details tab of Disciplinary Advanced section, these tabs will appear.

8.7. Disciplinary Appeal Outcome Type

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Disciplinary Appeal Outcome Type

The Disciplinary Appeal outcome is used in Consultation Outcome.

There are only 2 possible Disciplinary Appeal Outcome Types created available in the system and these cannot be added to or deleted from. They can however be edited to allow for company terminology.

8.8. Disciplinary Charge Type

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Master Data | Disciplinary Process Tabs

The Disciplinary Process Tabs links with the Disciplinary Action / Action Outcome Relationship. There are 10 Tabs available on the system. Each tab serves a specific function and it is not recommended to change these tabs without due consideration for the implications.

The content and the function of the tabs are not editable; however, the name and description of the tabs can be changed.

To change the name or description, click on the tab itself. This will open the Disciplinary Process Tabs

*Note the Default

Tabs are interlinked, and specific tabs will only load after information is provided on previous tabs. Therefore, a default tab must be selected and linked to other tabs to ensure that all the tabs are available. The tabs should follow each other in a logical sequence.

8.9. Dispute Reason

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Master Data | Dispute Reason

Dispute Reasons are used with Disputes.

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Master Data | Legal Representative Type

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Master Data | Legal Representatives

If the organisation makes regular use of a specific legal representative, then he/she can be added to the system to speed up the administration work.

8.12. Rescission Referral Type

Navigation

On the portal | Manage Employees | Search for Employee | Action | View/edit | Employee Relations | Master Data | Rescission Referral Type

If a Dispute is referred to the Labour Court, it will be referred by a specific party. These parties can be configured in Master Data.

8.13. Disciplinary Actions

Navigation

On the portal | System Administration | Tools | Configuration | Specific Lists | Disciplinary Actions

The Disciplinary Standard discussed earlier requires the user to list the actions taken against an employee. These are pre-configured in the Specific Lists Section of the System.

To add a new item to the list, click on “Add New Disciplinary Actions” button. The “Specific Lists - Disciplinary Actions” window will Load.

 After a record has been loaded, The Long Name, Short Name, and Order will show.

Disciplinary Type can also be added from this section. It was used by earlier version of the system. Should Disciplinary Type be required, the same process can be followed from the same section on the system.

8.14. Smart Nav

The Smart Navigation or “Smart Nav” function can be found throughout the module. It is used to search for employees within specific modules. Therefore, if the user is looking to add a specific disciplinary record to a specific employee, the Smart Nav function in the Employee Relations Module should be used. If the user wishes to edit an employee’s details, then the Smart Nav function in the Employee Profile section should be used.

To find an employee, enter any of their personal details in the text box provided. Then click on “Smart Nav” to search for the employee. This will open a new window with details of all of the employees that match the criteria.

  • If required, use the search function to change the search criteria. Enter the new criteria in the text box and click on “Search”. To clear the information in the text box, click on “Clear”
  • Close: Click on “Close” to close the window and discard the search.
  • Previous 20 || Next 20: Click “Previous 20 || Next 20” to move in-between pages.
  • Click on the Employee (i.e. on the grey bar) to load their details. Doing this will close the window and load the employee’s details.

8.15. Documents

Documents that need to be recorded can be loaded when tab is available. These include Notices, Requests, Court Documents, or any other document that is required by the system.

To load a document, click on “Add” to load the “File Uploader” popup window. This window is discussed in detail below.

Loaded documents be can be viewed on the Documents Tab.

  • Download File: Click on the “Download File” icon to download the file.
  • Name: The name of the saved file will be provided here.
  • Description: This is the description that the user provided.
  • Document Type: The document type can be identified by the icon used.
  • Delete: If the file was loaded incorrectly, it can be deleted by clicking on the “Delete” tick box icon and then on the “Delete” button.
  • To edit the file or record, click on any area within the table to open the File Uploader.

8.16. File Uploader

Once the File Uploader Window has loaded, the file can be saved to the system. Note that the description field is mandatory and that The File Uploader only allows one file to be uploaded at a time.

  • The Description is used to differentiate and search for the document.
    • Remember that other individuals can search for the documents using the description provided and therefore it is imperative that it is complete and representative of the information uploaded.
  • Files can be uploaded by dragging them from your desktop or your files and dropping them in the white textbox. Files can also be loaded by clicking on the “Click Here” link to open your file browser. The process is discussed below.
  • If you click on “Cancel” the window will be closed without adding any documents.
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