Draft Code of Good Practice on Dismissal published for comment

Public commentary
 

The Department of Labour and Employment (DEL) has on 22 January 2025 published a new Draft Code of Good Practice on Dismissal.

The Draft Code on Dismissal will provide guidance regarding dismissals for misconduct, incapacity and operational requirements and will apply to both employers and employees.

The Draft Code places emphasis on the fact that employers and employees should treat one another with mutual respect. The Draft Code focuses on employment justice, the efficient operation of an employer’s business and the expeditious resolution of disputes.

The Draft Code further emphasis the purpose of a fair procedure in that it is to foster dialogue and reflection and allow an employee to respond to allegations in the case of misconduct.

Significantly, the Draft Code indicates that investigations and enquiries into misconduct can be informal, with their nature tailored to the specific context and size of the employer as well as the frequency and severity of the misconduct in question.

Furthermore, the Draft Code now incorporates the guidelines on dismissals due to operational requirements which were previously absent from the existing Code of Good Practice on Dismissal and
were instead found under a separate Code of Good Practice on Operational Requirements and section 189 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995.

The Draft Code provides employers with practical tools for managing the employment relationship while maintaining the fundamentals of a fair procedure.

Interested parties have 60 days, until 22 March 2025, to submit their proposals on the Draft Code to the DEL.

Download the Draft Code of Good Practice on Dismissal here.

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