The code of good practice states that dismissal must be a last resort. However, we cannot shy away from the effects of the ongoing global pandemic, coronavirus, within the scope of industrial relations. It can be stated that after the hard lockdown most employers are breathing through the wound since there is a shortage of work, lack of business, just to mention a few. The unprecedented financial havoc caused by a shortage of work and lack of business has resulted in most businesses running a...

“Nemo Iudex in Causa Sua” – A decision-maker must be impartial and have no interest in the case.[1] A chairperson must therefore ensure that he or she is impartial when conducting a disciplinary hearing. The chairperson must weigh all the evidence for and against the employee and then make an informed and well thought out decision.[2] This requires that the chairperson must be impartial in the facts of the matter and that there must be no grounds to suspect that the decision of the chairperson...

It is essential to distinguish between negligence and gross negligence. The reason being that negligence will not warrant dismissal for a first offence, whereas gross negligence could warrant dismissal for a first offence. Negligence is seen as the failure to fulfil the standard of care that ought to be exercised by a reasonable person in a particular situation. In labour law, the reasonable person test is used to establish negligence. The test entails determining whether a reasonable...