Tag Archives: Miller Samuel

A recent case has highlighted the importance of restricting or clearly defining the role of HR in the disciplinary process. Failing to do so could leave an employer with an unfair dismissal on its hands.

In the aforementioned case, employee Mr Ramphal was being investigated by his employer regarding expenses and his use of hire cars. Mr Goodchild, the manager responsible for conducting the investigation, was inexperienced in conducting disciplinary proceedings. As such, he relied heavily on support from the HR department. In his draft report, he made a number of findings in favour of Mr Ramphal, and his initial conclusion was that Mr Ramphal’s actions amounted to misconduct as opposed to gross misconduct. Mr Goodchild then determined that a written warning would be the appropriate sanction. However, the HR department became involved and removed the positive findings, meaning that a finding of gross misconduct was determined and Mr Ramphal was dismissed.