Hak untuk 'Domestic Inquiry' adalah hak pekerja yang harus dimasukkan dalam CA dengan jelas... ini memberikan pekerja hak membela diri...hak untuk didengar..dan obligasi kepada pengadu membuktikan 'salah laku kerja' yang dituduh dilakukan. Prosidur Domestic Inquri/Siasatan Dalaman adalah lebih kurang saperti prosidur di Mahkamah --- dan demi keadilan, pekerja yang dituduh harus mempunyai hak untuk direpresentasi Union atau peguam atau...
Panel DI, yang harusnya berkecuali, biasanya memutuskan salah atau tidak, dan juga memberikan nasihat mengenai hukuman patut kepada majikan - ini bagus untuk pekerja kerana kalau tidak majikan bertindak cepat berasaskan 'emosi' dan tidak lakukan keadilan...
ADAKAH PERJANJIAN KERJA ATAU CA (perjanjian bersama antara Union dan Majikan) mempunyai peruntukkan mengenai DI - serta juga butiran bagaimana ia dijalankan. Yang dilihat, selalunya ada 'Grievance Procedure', iaitu prosidur mengenai ketidakpuashati pekerja terhadap majikan - tetapi sebaliknya bila majikan ada masalah dengan pekerja, nampaknya banyak Union gagal meletakkan prosidur ...surat tunjuk sebab...DI....
PASTIKAN Union anda memasukkan peruntukan mengenai prosidur disiplin dalam CA...
Pastikan MTUC, Union anda dan semua pekerja berjuang untuk memastikan hak untuk mendapatkan prosidur disiplin, yang termasuk surat tunjuk sebab, Domestic Inquiry(siasatan dalaman) juga di masukkan dalam Akta Kerja atau akta berkenaan ...untuk lebih menjamin hak pekerja ini....
Domestic Inquiries and Show Cause Letters
by Editor
A
domestic Inquiry is an internal inquiry into some alleged misconduct by
an employee. The main objectives of the domestic inquiry are to
establish whether the alleged misconduct is proven or not and if the
misconduct is proven, to recommend a punishment that is appropriate to
the offence committed. The complainant is normally the management of the
company but sometimes, can also be the victim of the alleged
misconduct. At the domestic inquiry, the employer will present its case
and the employee is given an equal opportunity to defend himself against
the charges of misconduct.
How much notice should an employee get before a Domestic Inquiry is held?
A minimum of seven days and a maximum of 14 days is reasonable.
Who can represent the employee at a Domestic Inquiry?
If the employee belongs to a trade
union, he can ask to be represented by his trade union. A non-unionised
employee can request for a willing colleague to assist him.
Who can sit in the panel at a Domestic Inquiry?
The panel should comprise an odd number
of persons who are employees of the company, usually three or five. The
rank of the chairman should be equal or higher than his other panel
members and almost always higher ranked than the employee. The panel is
expected to be unbiased and exercise impartiality when hearing the
evidence. There will also be a secretary, prosecuting officer and an
investigation officer.
What happens during a Domestic Inquiry?
First, the employer will present the
evidence it has collected and bring in witnesses to support his
arguments. Next, the employer will defend himself and can also bring in
his witnesses and other evidence.
What happens after a Domestic Inquiry?
The panel will adjourn to decide whether
the employee is guilty or not. If the employee is found to be guilty,
the panel will recommend to management an appropriate penalty.
After the Domestic Inquiry has been held
the inquiry panel will decide whether the employee is guilty of all or
any of the charges and if he is guilty, they may recommend a suitable
penalty to management. It is for senior management, who appointed the
panel, to actually decide upon the appropriate penalty.
What penalties are possible?
Any of the following are possible:
- A written warning;
- A no-pay suspension not exceeding two weeks;
- Demotion to a lower grading or position;
- Withholding of a contractual increment or bonus; or
- Dismissal
Can the employee appeal?
An employee covered by the Employment
Act 1955 can complain to the Labour Department. For dismissals, the
dismissed employee can claim for reinstatement at the Department of
Industrial Relations.
Show cause letter
A show cause letter is the start of a
domestic inquiry to investigate into any gross misconduct committed by
an employee. It is a very delicate issue that needs to be handled with
due diligence and lots of sensitivity.
Before a show cause letter is issued,
the most effective engagement method to begin with is to call the
accused staff for a face-to-face preliminary discussion, professionally
and without intimidation. The objectives are to give him an opportunity
to give his side of the story, get at the truth of the situation and see
whether at all there is a case to answer. What is important is to
prevent any form of victimization at the onset.
“The main objectives of the domestic inquiry are to establish whether the alleged misconduct is proven or not.”
If the accused staff admits to the
complaint, then the matter is simpler as the discussion will now focus
on his fate. Advise him properly on the violation of company policies
and the legal and moral implications. Probe further by throwing in
questions such as “What have you to say?” and “How should we go about
settling this matter?” From this discussion, you should be able to
determine whether there is really a gross misconduct which requires
disciplinary action. Of course, this can also be determined from the
answer to the show cause letter.
On the other hand, if the staff keeps
denying the matter without substantiating his rebuttal of the complaint
or ignores the attempts to meet with him, then the appropriate cause of
action must be initiated. The show cause letter detailing the misconduct
should be issued and the staff given a specific time frame to answer
it. By the deadline if no reply is received or the answer is
insufficient, a domestic inquiry will then be initiated.
Before the charge sheet is issued to the
accused staff, the management must be sure of the facts of the case. To
do so, you need to liaise with the supervisor to understand further
what had transpired. It is also important to be sure that once the
domestic inquiry is called, the supervisor, being the key witness in the
case, must be available to attend the inquiry as the company’s witness.
If he refuses to attend, the domestic inquiry is on filmsier grounds as
the accused staff must be given a chance to cross-examine the
allegation made against him. If the supervisor is willing to cooperate,
then with all the facts before you, the company may call for a domestic
inquiry even if the accused staff fails to answer the show cause letter
or gives an inadequate answer. In fact, the failure to answer the show
cause letter can be in itself an additional charge against him.
By JobStreet.com
The article is contributed by JobStreet.com (www.jobstreet.com),
which is Malaysia’s leading end-to-end online recruitment job site.
Jobstreet provides a host of synergistic operations ranging from online
job postings, provision of contract staff, online marketing services to
career site management and search and selection services.
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