Warning for missing one meeting!

Mohamed’s* boss often calls meetings on the spot and expects people to drop whatever they’re doing.

These meetings aren’t planned, so Mohamed never knows when they are going to happen.

When he left the office during lunchtime to pick his kids up from school one afternoon, his boss called one of these meetings and was furious when Mohamed wasn’t there.

He threatened to fire him in front of all the other employees, and when Mohamed got back to the office his boss said he needed to sign a written warning for missing the meeting.

Mohamed is scared of losing his job and doesn’t know if he should sign the warning.

Scorpion Legal Protection labour specialists’ advice:

Schedule 8 of the Labour Relations Act says that when employers deal with employee misconduct and poor performance, they must use a corrective, progressive approach.

The purpose of issuing a warning is to try and correct a situation, and the seriousness of the warning should increase with the seriousness of the offence, or if an employee continues to commit offences.

Warnings can’t just be handed out whenever the employer feels like it.

The employer’s disciplinary code and procedure must be communicated to all employees in writing, in a language employees can clearly understand.

It usually covers things such as absenteeism, gross negligence, insubordination, illegal strikes, drunkenness in the workplace, poor performance, theft and sexual harassment.

But each employer will have a unique code of conduct – one that’s specific to their workplace and covers much more.

This disciplinary code and procedure will explain what counts as a “serious offence”, as well as what disciplinary action can be taken if an employee breaks any of the rules listed under serious offences.

A written warning is usually resorted to when:

A verbal warning has failed and the employer feels he needs to take action

The offence for which the verbal warning was issued has been repeated

There have been repeated offences of other misconduct

The offence is considered serious enough to warrant disciplinary action stricter than a verbal warning.

A written warning should only be issued after having followed fair procedure, where the accused has been given an opportunity to present his case and answer to the charges against him.

In Mohamed’s case, a written warning is unfair. It was his first offence (he’s not missed a meeting before) and the meeting was unplanned, so he could not have been expected to know about it and plan his day around it.

The disciplinary policy of some employers allows employees to appeal against warnings.

If Mohamed’s employer is one of these, he should appeal the warning in writing to the HR department of the company.

If his employer does not allow for internal appeals against warnings, Mohamed can refer the warning to the CCMA or relevant bargaining council.

If they find the warning to be unfair, Mohamed’s employer will be forced to remove the warning from his professional record.