Conducting Disciplinary Hearings in Zimbabwe: A Toolkit for Managers and HR

Most disciplinary cases in Zimbabwe are not lost on the facts. They are lost because the wrong code was used, the clock ran out, the chair was not independent or the record could not show what happened. This course shows line managers and HR how to run a process that is fair to the employee and that the employer can defend.

You follow Rudo Chikore, Employee Relations Manager at the fictional Kuvanya Shared Services in Harare, through three cases, each under a different type of code.

Guidance, not a handbook: This course teaches the principles of a fair disciplinary process and builds judgement. It is not a substitute for the code that governs your workplace, the current law or advice from a registered labour practitioner or legal practitioner. Zimbabwe’s Labour Act, its regulations, employment codes and the Labour Court’s rules are amended from time to time, and new court decisions can change how they are read. The court cases in this course are examples of how particular disputes were resolved, not permanent rules. Before you suspend, charge, decide or appeal, check the current position.

What you will learn

• Work out which code governs a case, and check that it is registered, complete and current
• Frame specific charges that match the evidence, with alternatives where the evidence may prove a lesser offence
• Separate investigation from decision, use suspension properly and serve a clear notice of proceedings
• Plan every case inside the clock that applies to it
• Chair a hearing that respects the employee’s rights, keeps roles separate and weighs evidence fairly
• Choose a penalty that is consistent and proportionate, and run internal appeals promptly
• Understand the routes after the code and keep a record a judge can rely on

Your toolkit

Five toolkit lessons give you templates to adapt, from a code map and charge sheet builder to a clock tracker, a chair’s script, a penalty register and an appeal tracker.

How law and cases are used

Lessons teach what a fair process requires and why. Court decisions are shown as examples of how particular disputes were resolved. Time limits appear only as dated examples in one reference table at the end of the course, because they are expected to change.

How the course works

There are five modules, each with four lessons and a short quiz. You need 70% on each quiz to complete the course and earn your certificate. The course does not prepare you for any certification exam.