CONDUCTING

A DOMESTIC ENQUIRY Why and when a domestic enquiry is necessary A domestic inquiry is an internal hearing held by an employer to establish whether an employee is guilty of misconduct and to provide an opportunity for the employee to state his case. Misconduct related to duty, discipline or morality could either be a minor misconduct or a major one. Preliminary investigation to establish this would need to be carried out almost immediately on receiving the complaint. All those involved need to be interviewed and their evidence / statements recorded in writing. For a minor misconduct an employee could be issued a warning letter while for a major misconduct it becomes necessary to conduct a domestic enquiry. The Industrial Court, under the provisions of The Industrial Relations Act 1967, does not merely examine whether there were proper grounds for the employer to terminate the services of the employee but also examines whether the process by which the employee was terminated was fair or unfair. Hence it is important to carry out the domestic enquiry in all fairness and not just as a mere formality. It is important to ensure that the basic principles of natural justice are observed. (i) That the employee is given an opportunity to know, in full, the charges made against him. (ii) The employee has reasonable opportunity of defending himself against the charges. (iii) The management team which sits as the Inquiry Panel should be unconnected with the events and circumstances surrounding the charge The Domestic Enquiry Process 1. Show cause notice If the investigation establishes a prima facie case justifying the complaint a show cause / charge sheet needs to be issued. This calls for an explanation from the employee and clearly sets out all the allegations to which the employee is requested to show cause. It should be signed by HR or Head of the Department. Name of the person charged Employee number Address Date, Time & Place of Occurrence Narration of the misconduct alleged Relevant clause and specific act of misconduct under the standing orders/ settlement. Calling for an explanation within a stipulated time and to whom the response is to be submitted If the charge rests on a written report, a copy of that report to be enclosed.

2. Care must be taken that the period of suspension and the amount of pay the employee receives during the period of suspension are in accordance with the provisions of the Employment Act or relevant settlement signed with the employees. 3. Once the response to the show cause is received and if you are not satisfied with it the next step is to send a notice of the domestic inquiry to the employee. The notice should give details of the date, time and place of inquiry and should state that the employee would be entitled to cross examine the witnesses and could also bring witnesses and documents of his own. 4. Identify the members of the panel for the inquiry. Ensure that they have not been directly involved in the case and are of a certain rank / grade within the organization. Make sure they are definitely managers with your organization. They should have an understanding of how a domestic enquiry needs to be carried out. 5. All statements given in the inquiry should be carefully recorded either by the Panel Member or an individual assigned that role. The notes should be typed out and a copy given to the employee at the end of each hearing and signed by both parties. 6. At the beginning of the inquiry the charge must be read out to him/her once again and explained. If the employee admits to the charge, then he is given an opportunity to explain the circumstances and the inquiry officer will then ask the officer presenting the case to state the facts so that punishment could be decided. 7. A case can also be heard if the employee is absent. However, the proceedings would need to be recorded and a copy sent to him/her. 8. Witnesses can be cross-examined by either party and their statements would be recorded in a similar fashion and the witnesses would need to sign their statements. 9. An employee could be accompanied by a union representative but cannot insist on legal representation. 10. Once the enquiry is complete the findings would need to be put down as a report including all evidence and the conclusion on the charges. This is to be sent to the appropriate authority in management who would then decide on the punishment. The inquiry officer/panel does not decide on the punishment.