There are no guidelines in South African Labour Legislation, and often not in other countries, that require a Chairperson to have any formal legal training, it is, however, a requirement that enquiries should be procedurally fair and that the Chairperson must be independent and impartial.

• An independent Chairperson is not influenced by any relationship between him/herself and the employer or employee and is preferably not an individual who is also an employee of the Employer that initiates the Disciplinary Enquiry. Apart from having knowledge of applicable law and procedure prior to chairing a disciplinary enquiry, he/she must also have a clear understanding of how a CCMA Commissioner will interpret the facts of the matter and what ruling might be made if same is to be referred.

• Furthermore, a Chairperson must base his or her decision solely on the evidence submitted by the parties during the enquiry (be able to distinguish between facts and opinions) and provide reasons for his/her decision; therefore the Chair should have no prior knowledge of the details of the case.

• A decision made by a Chairperson must also be in line with the disciplinary code of the Employer and not based on his/her opinion of what an appropriate sanction would be in the specific circumstances.

• If an employee appeals the Chairperson’s decision, a different Chairperson must conduct the second Enquiry, and if a Chairperson recommends dismissal as a sanction for reasons unrelated to the charges against the Employee, the outcome shall be thoroughly investigated and scrutinised by the CCMA if such a matter is referred.

Acknowledge Photo by Hunters Race on Unsplash