It is very easy to be tripped up on a technicality in the bewildering world of the workplace, where both staff and management have to negotiate the world of employment relations in both the formal sense – contracts, lines of reporting, disciplinary procedures etc – and the informal: team cultures, human relations, co-operative work goals etc. This book brings a cool and calm perspective to bear on the practicalities of labour law, employment relations, and dispute resolution. It is written by two highly experienced practitioners in the field of employment law, employment relations and dispute resolution, uniquely positioned to provide clear SOLUTIONS to the problems that line managers, HR/ER managers and employers are likely to encounter in the workplace. It is indispensable to anyone who plays an active role in the management of the modern South African work environment.

The point is made in this title's companion work that the vast majority of cases referred to the CCMA and Bargaining Councils for arbitration concern unfair dismissals. While the former work deals in detail with the legal principles relating to dismissals, this title contains practical guidelines, checklists and forms to make the application of those principles easier. This title's main purpose is to improve the quality of case preparation and presentation at disciplinary hearings, thereby also ensuring better decision-making by chairpersons and limiting the risk of adverse arbitration awards. While it places a heavy focus on the often neglected but critical role of the employer's representative at the disciplinary hearing, it will also assist employee representatives in their preparation, chairpersons in their decision-making and representatives at arbitration with their preparation.