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Home Page -> Important Information -> Legal Tips -> Is suspension for theft fair?
Welcome to Scorpion’s Legal Tips! Every week we’ll share stories of injustice and show you how you can strike back legally.
Apart from yelling at him and humiliating him in front of customers, Reggie’s* boss accused him of theft, and then gave him a letter of suspension. Reggie has been working for the employer for three years. Is this fair? Scorpion Legal Protection explains.
Start with the employer’s internal processes
Sometimes employees are so upset with their employer, or scared of them, that they want to go directly to the CCMA. While this is understandable, when they look at unfair suspension cases, the CCMA always looks to see if the employee first made use of the company’s internal procedures to try and solve the problem before coming to the CCMA.
Reggie should start by lodging a formal grievance against his manager/boss for the unfair treatment (humiliating him in front of customers) and also by finding out whether the suspension is with pay or not. The employer must give the reasons why the employee is being suspended. The reasons for the suspension and whether or not it’s with pay can make a difference in whether or not the suspension is unfair.
Not every employer will have departments that deal with grievances, or even have a process in place for employees to lodge grievances, but if they do, you should make use of them. Regardless, they will still have to follow the legal process for taking disciplinary action against an employee.
The disciplinary process for suspending an employee
If there is an allegation that an employee has committed an act of misconduct (like theft), the employer must follow these steps:
You cannot just be suspended without pay
An employer may not just suspend you without pay.
There are two types of suspension:
If the suspension is a precautionary suspension but it is without pay, then it is classified as an “unfair labour practice” in terms of s186(2) of the Labour Relations Act and the employee can refer the matter to the CCMA or relevant bargaining council.
You may also be interested in:
Is suspension without pay fair?
Fixed-term contracts and warnings
CCMA vs Labour Department
* This is only basic paralegal advice and cannot be relied on solely. The information is correct at the time of being sent to publishing. Cases are based on fictional characters unless otherwise indicated.
Date added: 25 January 2022