I was called to a disciplinary hearing and need to prepare. What questions should I ask a labour lawyer?

How to use this guide

Send a compact indexed pack before the meeting. The lawyer can give more useful advice when the notice, policy, chronology and key evidence are available.

Questions about the charges and workplace rule

Start with the foundation:

1. What does each charge require the employer to prove?
2. Is the wording specific enough for me to answer?
3. Which rule, policy, instruction or contract term applies?
4. Was the rule in force and communicated on the alleged date?
5. Is the employer alleging intention, negligence, dishonesty, insubordination or another form of fault?
6. Are any charges duplicative or based on the same conduct?
7. What fact, if proved, would most change your assessment?

Ask the lawyer to convert every charge into a short issue list. This prevents the response from becoming a broad story that never answers the allegation.

Questions about the employer's evidence

Ask:

• What evidence is the employer likely to rely on?
• Which documents should I request, and why are they necessary for my response?
• Are the messages, system logs, CCTV, audit records or witness accounts complete and reliable?
• What can I lawfully preserve from work systems?
• How should I deal with hearsay or an anonymous complaint?
• Which witness has personal knowledge of the disputed fact?
• What important evidence is missing, and what substitute may prove the point?

Do not demand an entire investigation file without linking the request to a charge. The aim is a meaningful opportunity to respond, using the applicable disciplinary code, collective agreement and practical fairness standard.

The disciplinary-hearing evidence guide covers source integrity, witness mapping and preservation.

Questions about preparation time and postponement

If time is short, ask:

1. Do I have reasonable time to prepare in this context?
2. What specific prejudice results from the present timetable?
3. What documents, witness availability, medical issue or accommodation support a postponement?
4. What alternative date should I propose?
5. How should I respond if the request is refused?
6. Should I attend and place the objection on record?

A supported, limited request is stronger than saying only that the case is stressful. The Code of Good Practice: Dismissal effective from 4 September 2025 uses a practical and context-sensitive standard; a contract or collective agreement may add procedural rights.

Questions about assistance and representation

Ask who may accompany you under the workplace rule. The current Code generally refers to assistance by a trade-union representative or fellow employee. External legal representation is not automatically guaranteed in every internal hearing.

Useful questions include:

• Does the disciplinary code or collective agreement permit a lawyer?
• Does the chairperson have discretion to allow external representation?
• Which complexity, equality or fairness facts support the request?
• If a lawyer cannot appear, can the lawyer prepare me and my representative?
• Who is the best internal assistant for this case?
• Do I need an interpreter or reasonable accommodation?

Ask for any disputed ruling and reasons to be recorded.

Questions about the defence

Ask the lawyer to identify:

• the primary defence to each charge;
• the best supporting document or witness;
• the weakest fact that must be confronted honestly;
• whether the issue is identity, rule, authority, fault, consistency, harm or credibility;
• what should be admitted because it is not genuinely disputed;
• what should be denied and why;
• which alternative explanation is supported by contemporaneous evidence; and
• how to test the employer's version without arguing with every detail.

The goal is not a rehearsed speech. It is a truthful, evidence-linked response that remains coherent under questions.

Questions about procedure

Ask which procedural issues create real prejudice and which are merely technical. For each issue, identify:

1. the rule or fairness principle;
2. what happened;
3. the request you made;
4. the ruling;
5. what you could not do because of it; and
6. the practical remedy still available.

Do not let a procedural objection replace the merits. Prepare both. Workplace discipline is not automatically required to copy criminal-court procedure, although stronger contractual or collectively agreed steps may apply.

Questions about sanction and mitigation

Even where you deny misconduct, ask:

• What sanction range is realistically possible?
• Is an existing warning valid, relevant and still active?
• What consistency evidence matters?
• How do service, record, training and actual harm affect sanction?
• Can correction, retraining, supervision or another sanction address the risk?
• How should mitigation be presented without admitting the charge?
• What personal information is relevant and proportionate?
• What outcome should I request in the alternative?

An alternative mitigation case can protect against an adverse finding without abandoning the primary defence.

Questions about resignation, settlement or repayment

If any proposal is on the table, ask:

• What rights or claims would I waive?
• Is the payment conditional and when is it due?
• Does the wording include an admission?
• What are the confidentiality, non-disparagement or repayment duties?
• What happens to notice pay, leave, benefits and references?
• Does resignation end the hearing or can it continue under the applicable rule?
• What are the consequences for unemployment benefits or professional reporting?
• Is the proposal truly full and final, and for which disputes?

Do not sign based on an oral assurance. Work through the actual wording.

Questions about the outcome and external route

Before the consultation ends, ask:

1. What if I receive no written reasons?
2. Is there an internal appeal or review, and what is its deadline?
3. What external dispute could exist after a warning, suspension or dismissal?
4. Does a bargaining council have jurisdiction instead of the CCMA?
5. What is the trigger date and conservative filing deadline?
6. Does the internal appeal affect that deadline?
7. What proof of service will a referral require?
8. What remedy is realistically available?

Current public CCMA material generally refers to 30 days for an unfair-dismissal referral and 90 days for a qualifying unfair-labour-practice dispute. Classification matters, and late referral generally requires condonation. The CCMA checklist, CCMA glossary, CCMA representation service and unfair dismissal service support the post-outcome stage.

Questions about scope, fees and deliverables

Clarify the engagement:

• Is the lawyer advising only, drafting documents, preparing the representative or appearing?
• What is included in the first consultation?
• Which documents must be reviewed and at what cost?
• Is urgent work charged differently?
• Who will do the work and communicate with you?
• What written output will you receive?
• What later stage would require a new mandate?
• Which outcome cannot be promised?

Ask for a written fee basis and scope. The disciplinary-hearing service, employment dispute pack, dismissal evidence pack and labour-law hub provide related preparation material.

Bring this consultation pack

• notice and charges;
• code, policy, contract and collective agreement;
• one-page chronology;
• one folder per charge;
• key employer material and your response proof;
• witness list;
• previous warnings and employment record;
• procedural requests and replies;
• proposed settlement, admission or resignation wording; and
• hearing, appeal and possible referral dates.

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