DISCIPLINARY

PROCEDURES
GROUP 16
 QUESTION
The employment relationship is built on the foundation that ‘discipline should be
corrective’ in the sense that employees should know and understand what standards are
required of them and efforts should be made to correct employee behavior through a
system of graduated disciplinary measures such as counseling and warning. Anonymous
From the foregoing critically discuss disciplinary procedures under the Public Service Act,
2002 as amended by the Employment and Labor Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act
2015; the Public Service Regulation 2003; the Employment and Labor Relation Act, 2004
as amended by the Employment and Labor Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2015;
and the Employment and Labor Relations (Code of Good Practice) Rules 2007.
 INTRODUCTION

According to the employment and labor relations Act (2004), Disciplinary

procedure is a guide for appropriate disciplinary action. As such, it does not detract
from management’s right to depart from it depending on the circumstances of each
case it aims to achieve flexibility and consistency, and to ensure fairness in the
application of disciplinary action. The list of offences is not exhaustive and an
employer may discipline any employee for good cause even though the specific
offence may not be stated in this procedure. The penalties relate to the commission of
the offence in isolation. The existence of any previous warnings and other material
factors should be taken into account in deciding on the appropriate disciplinary action.
Discipline means a prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior. Employee Discipline at
workplace can be defined as adherence to the company policies, rules, regulations and processes
laid down by the management. Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.
Example of work place discipline seeks to correct unacceptable employee behavior such as, if
an employee is constantly late for work, his supervisor issues an oral or written reprimand
explaining why their behavior is problematic and encouraging them to improve.
The following are the disciplinary procedures under Employment and Labor Relation Act, 2004
as amended by the Employment and Labor Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2015
together with the Employment and Labor Relations (Code of Good Practice) Rules 2007 which
are; -
 DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES FOR
MINOR MISCONDUCT
A verbal warning; When an employee discipline or a working performance is low an
employer can give a warning to that employee by him or herself the aim of doing that is to
make give an employee the opportunity to change or collect his or her behaviors. And this
verbal warning which are given by the employer is only to collect the behavior of the
employee and are not considered in the personal file at the working place.
A written warning; If an employee is found guilty of minor misconduct in the workplace, a
written warning must be issued, indicating when the warning ends. The principal or manager
may issue a written warning if the employee's performance or behavior does not improve, or
if the employee's bad behavior or performance is justified. Warnings must be given directly to
the employee, in writing, and a copy of the completed form must be given to the employee.
 THE FOLLOWING ARE THE APPEAL
AGAINST WRITTEN WARNING
(a) Where an employee is aggrieved by a written warning, the employee may complete the
appropriate part relating to appeal of the employee’s copy of the warning form within five
working days after receipt, and hand it to the Manager who issued the warning.
(b) The appeal should be referred to the next level of management above the level of the
manager who issued the warning.
(c) The manager considering the appeal should consider the written representations contained on
the form and may speak to the persons concerned to obtain additional information, but no
formal hearing should take place.
(d) An employer should be considering the appeal personally advise the employee of the
outcome of the appeal within five working days from the date of receipt.
The Manager should record the outcome on the appropriate part of the
original warning form and the employee’s copy and return it to the
employee. and final written warnings be kept on an employee’s personal file
and should remain operative for six months.
 DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURES FOR
SERIOUS MISCONDUCT
Conduct of Investigation; When there is an allegation of misconduct, an
investigation will be conducted so that to find out what happen and it is
important that any investigation is fair and balanced it should not be purely
focused on proving the employee’s guilt. The aim of investigation is to
decide if there is a case to answer or not, so who carry out the investigation
they should be impartial. The aim for conducting investigation is to find out
if there is grounds for conversing disciplinary hearing. According to rule
13(1) of Employment and Labor Relations (Code of Good Practice) Rules
2007.
Notification; Notice of Disciplinary Measure means a specific written document informing the Member
of any charge, date, policy and/or breach of contract and any other reason that authorizes Management to
take disciplinary action against the Member and any fine the Department may seek. The goal is to help
employees understand how their bad behavior affects the company and their jobs, what the consequences
are, and how they can control themselves to avoid more severe disciplinary action, including
termination. The employer must present the disciplinary action in writing to the employee, giving
sufficient information to the employee to understand what exactly he is accused of, any punishment such
as the first written warning, disciplinary dismissal for gross negligence, when and where the hearing of
the case will take place. discipline, the right to be accompanied by a colleague or union representative, if
any document is mentioned in the disciplinary hearing, a copy must be sent to the employee at the same
time. This provided under Rule 13(2) of Employment and Labor Relations (Code of Good Practice)
Rules 2007.
Information to employee within reasonable time; An employer should
give his or her employee the reasonable time so that can be able to prepare
him or herself for hearing. So through this time employee can prepare to
defend his or her job. The employee should be advised in writing of the
allegations and the time and date of the proposed hearing, giving the
employee a reasonable opportunity to prepare for the hearing. This provided
under Rule 13(3) of Employment and Labor Relations (Code of Good
Practice) Rules 2007.
Hearing should be heard by senior member of the management who was
not involved in the case; During the hearing it is very important to have the
one of the member who can hear the allegation who don’t know the course
of the case or he should not be able to be involved in the case. Through this
it will help to remove or to reduce the favouritism when hearing the case at
the case also it will be able to bring balance when hearing the case that each
sides a given the equal opportunity. This provided under Rule 13(4) of
Employment and Labor Relations (Code of Good Practice) Rules 2007.
Fair hearing is required by evidence laws should be complied; Although there is no
prescribed procedure for the disciplinary hearing itself, I’d generally recommend that
the investigating matter set out the case for the prosecution, the employee or
representative responds to the allegations made, the adjudicating manager asks any
questions he or she may have of the parties present. If the adjudicating manager thinks
that further investigation is necessary, the meeting should be adjourned in order for that
to take place. The adjudicating manager should ask both sides if they have any further
comments they wish to make before a decision is reached. This provided under Rule
13(5) of Employment and Labor Relations (Code of Good Practice) Rules 2007.
Employee should be given chance to provide mitigating factors before
pronouncement of decision on appropriate sanction; Mitigating and
aggravating factors to the considered should include, the seriousness of the
offence and the likelihood of repetition; the employee’s circumstances
(including personal circumstances, length of service and previous disciplinary
record); the nature of the employee’s job (including health and safety
considerations) and the circumstances of the infringement itself. This
provided under Rule 13(7) of Employment and Labor Relations (Code of
Good Practice) Rules 2007.
Giving decision with the brief reasons for the decisions; The chairperson
should inform the employee of the outcome of the hearing as soon as
possible, but not later than five working days after the hearing, the
chairperson should sign the disciplinary form and give a copy to the
employee. Disciplinary action should be recorded on the prescribed forms.
An employee’s signature on any form shall not be an admission of guilt and
is merely an acknowledgement that the employee has received the form.
This provided under Rule 13(8) of Employment and Labor Relations (Code
of Good Practice) Rules 2007.
Notification of the rights to appeal; An employee may challenge the
outcome of the case by completing the appropriate section of the disciplinary
document and submitting it to the president within five working days of the
disciplinary process, along with any written information the employee wishes
to provide. Within five working days, the president must escalate the matter to
the highest level of management, along with a written report summarizing the
grounds for disciplinary action. A copy of this report must be provided to the
requesting employee. The supervisor investigating the complaint should
review the documents provided.
The manager who investigates the complaint may in any case organize another hearing
to examine the evidence and arguments related to the complaint, which the employee
may assist his representative. The officer investigating the complaint will record the
findings of the complaint in the appropriate section of the initial warning form and will
return it to the employee. The deadline for exercising these rights starts from the date
the employee is notified of the outcome of the complaint.
The following are the disciplinary procedures under the Public Service Act, 2002
as amended by the Employment and Labor Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments)
Act 2015 together with the Public Service Regulation 2003 which are; -
Preliminary Investigation; is an opportunity for employers to identify any
unsafe conditions, acts, or procedures that must be addressed so that work
can resume safely until a full investigation can be completed. Employers
must complete a preliminary investigation and accompanying report within
48 hours of an incident. The purpose of the preliminary investigation is to
gather sufficient information to decide whether or not there are reasonable
grounds to believe that the suspicion or a victim's allegation is partly true.
The need for an investigation is first ascertained by evaluating the extent of
the workplace problem under consideration. The whole investigation is put
to prevent the violations of the rights of the employee during the
investigation and underline the goals of the investigation. In this case, the
investigation must provide solid evidence and reveal instances of substance
abuse and violations of work rules within the organization. This provided
under regulation 36 of the public service regulation.
The Public Servant must be given notice of the charges against him; When
a public servant makes misconduct at the working place the initiation of a
disciplinary charge against an employee shall be in writing subscribed or
endorsed by the appropriate administrator as determined by the employer shall
contain a reasonably detailed description of the charges being brought against
the employee. Notice issued by management to the delinquent employee, to
show cause as to why appropriate disciplinary action should not be taken
against him, for the various charges levelled against him. This provided under
regulation 44(1)(2)(3) of the public service regulation.
The Public Servant must be given an opportunity to be heard; where the
disciplinary authority decides to institute summary proceedings against the
accused public servant he shall have a right to be present at the investigation
and make his defense. In order to be a rightful allegation an employee
should be given a chance or an opportunity to be heard against the
allegations which he or she conduct or accused to practice at the working
place. This provided under regulation 49(3) of the Public Service
Regulation.
Interdiction; refer to a temporary removal of an officer from performing his normal
duties. An officer may be interdicted when disciplinary proceedings for his or her
dismissal are being undertaken or are about to be undertaken. Interdiction may also
take place on the grounds that criminal charges are pending. In this case, the officer is
placed on half salary. Where the disciplinary authority considers that it is in the public
interest that a public servant should cease forthwith to perform the duties and functions
of his office, the disciplinary authority or any delegated disciplinary authority as the
case may be interdict the public servant from performing those duties and functions,
save that the charges against that public servant. This provided under regulation 38 of
the public service regulation.
Suspension of a public servant convicted of criminal offence; Where the
public servant has been convicted of a criminal offence the disciplinary
authority may suspend that public servant from performing his duties and
functions pending considering of the case on disciplinary grounds provided in
the public service regulation act. Also a public servant under suspension shall
not entitled to any salary with effect from the date of suspension, but shall be
paid by the appointing authority an alimentary allowance equivalent to one
third of his gross salary. Suspension provided under regulation 39 of the public
service regulation together with the public service act under section 24 (1).
Committee of Inquiry; A commission of inquiry is a tool to enable the
investigation of matters of public concern in a public forum other than in an
ordinary court. Commissions are aimed at encouraging transparency through fact
finding and providing input for future investigation or criminal proceedings, if
necessary. Commissions of inquiry are normally empowered to gather evidence
through investigations, including; entering and searching premises, requesting
written statements under oath, as well as oral evidence given in a public hearing.
Committee of inquiry provided under regulation 46, pocedures under regulation
47 and conclusion of inquiry under regulation 48 of the Public Regulation.
Appeals; Any public servant aggrieved with any decisions from any disciplinary
authorities as right to appeal. This is the constitutional right provided under Article
13 (6) (a) in the Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 as amended
time to time. However the constitution does not guarantee for one to appeal in all
proceedings but other rights has to be exercised for public servant to appeal. . Right
to appeal for a public servant in disciplinary proceeding is provided under section 25
of the public service act together with regulation 60 of the public service regulation.
The time to appeal is provided under regulation 61 and the procedures for one to
appeal is provided in regulation 62 of the public service regulation.
The decision of any appeal by the president is final. The regulation and the
act provide for the appeal to the ordinary court of law. This impkies that the
only way for one to have access to the court is by way of judicial review, the
power is only vested to the High Court and where one is further aggrieved
by the decision of the High Court can appeal to the Central
AdministrativeTribunal.
 CONCLUSION
Almost every employer has been in a situation where he realizes that he has
got a problematic employee who needs to be disciplined. The employer or
manager might be tempted to overlook the problem in order to avoid
disruption of peace. Properly administered discipline in the workplace helps
a business stay away from several common problems and helps the company
in a number of ways. Also behavioral issues in a workplace need supervisors
to take appropriate action in order to make sure that the issue is controlled
and rectified.
This disciplinary in an organization cannot be overlooked, as productivity,
company profitability, and employee morale can get negatively affected.
This shown that a positive attitude might solve a problem before it gets
worse. However, discipline in the workplace policy should always be
applied carefully by sticking to the policies of the company while respecting
the rights of the workers.
THE END.