Disciplining Procedure

1st Stage: Preliminary Investigation, if required:

First of all a preliminary inquiry should be held to find whether a prima fascie case of misconduct exists.

The departmental manager, having considered the preliminary report against the worker, will issue a Charge Sheet or Show-Cause notice as soon aspossible.
Charge sheet is merely a notice of the charge and provides the employee an opportunity to explain his/her conduct.
The Charge Sheet shall be prepared by the HR department in consultation Disciplining Employees/For Class Room Use Only2 with the Head of the department concerned. Departmental Manager or Manager of the Organization (it depends on the policy of the organization)should sign.
The offense, for which disciplinary action is proposed, shall be clearly mentioned and the charges should be specific, giving the date, time, place, etc. Relevant section of the Act should be quoted in framing the charges.
The accused shall be given not less than seven days time to submit his/her explanation.

This stage is for consideration of the explanation submitted by the person concerned. The accused may either admit or refute the charges. In case of admission of charges without any qualification or ambiguity and appeal for leniency, it would not be necessary for the employer to hold any further enquiry and he may either issue written warning or award punishment commensurate with the gravity of the offense.
If, however, the charge is refuted by the worker, the explanation should be clearly scrutinized to see if the explanation offered is satisfactory. If it is so, further proceedings may be dropped. But if the explanation is not satisfactory and the accused has refuted the charge, a formal inquiry must be instituted. There may be cases when the worker fails or refuses to submit an explanation. In both cases, the employer must proceed with the formal inquiry.
It is important to note that failure to submit an explanation by the worker does not absolve the employer from the necessity of holding an inquiry into the charges brought against the worker. Therefore, in such cases also the regular inquiry should be held and only after that, should the punishment be awarded.
Another very essential point we should always keep in mind that the proceedings of inquiry, the decision of the Management and the nature of punishment must be recorded in writing.

The forth stage in the procedure is the notice to the worker of holding the inquiry. It must be issued even the accused fails or don't submit his/her explanation.
It is absolutely essentials that the inquiry should be held in the presence of accused. If, however, he/she fails to be present on the specific date and time, the Inquiry Officer may proceed with the ex-parte
If the accused worker desires, he/she may be allowed the assistance of another worker in the conduct of his defense or allowed to sit as an observer. Since this is a domestic inquiry, outsider, i.e., non-company employees must not be allowed either to sit as an observer or even as witness in support of the accused.

The most important step in the procedure of disciplinary action is the actual holding of inquiry. The inquiry should be conducted by an impartial and responsible officer. He should proceed in a proper manner and examine witness. Fair opportunity should be given to the worker to cross-examine the management witness.
The purpose of departmental inquiry:
- To give an opportunity to the accused to defend him/herself; and
- To give an opportunity to the employer to assess the merits of the case and to decide penalty;

On the conclusion of the inquiry, the inquiry officer will summaries the case and submits reports (facts and findings) to the management. It is for the Management to study the report and satisfy them whether the charges against the worker have been proved or not, on the evidence recorded at the
inquiry.
As far as possible he should refrain from recommending punishment and leave it to the decision of the appropriate authority.

The management should decide the punishment on the basis of findings of the enquiry, past record of the worker and gravity of the misconduct.

The final step is the letter informing the accused the punishment, which has been decided to be given to him/her by the management. The letter of communication should contain reference to the charge sheet, the inquiry and the findings. The date from which the punishment is to be effective should also be mentioned.
If, after the inquiry, the accused is found not guilty, he/she should be exonerated from the charges. The 'exoneration' must be the word to be used in official letter and not withdrawal or dropped etc. The technical effect of exoneration and withdrawal of charges are quite different.