University whistleblowing policy and staff grievance procedure

Review and Appeals Process

“7.3.1

Requests for reviews shall be considered only based on procedural or technical irregularities and must be submitted to the Executive Director: HR within ten (10) working days of receipt of the letter advising the incumbent and the line manager of the result of the evaluation.

7.3.2 

If there are legitimate grounds for a review, the Job Evaluation Officer will convene a Review Panel to undertake the review.”

Appeal and Dispute Resolution Mechanism

“6.1.

Where a disagreement arises during any stage of the performance management process, the aggrieved party can lodge an appeal within seven (7) working days of receiving the final rating awarded after the consistency meeting by following the normal grievance procedure and by following the specific guidelines below:

a) Employees have the right to appeal their final performance rating.
b) The burden of proof is with the employee to provide evidence of performance.
c) The first level of appeal is to the direct line manager:

i) Attempt to resolve the issue with the Manager through discussion.
ii) If agreement is reached, both parties sign performance assessment form.
iii) Should the matter not be resolved within four (4) days of the discussion, the aggrieved party will write a letter of appeal and submit it to the next level line manager within seven (7) working days from the date of the disagreement. The letter must set out the nature and details of the disagreement and the proposed terms of the settlement.
iv) Appeals for employees on Peromnes 8 to 17, including assistant lecturer and lecturer is finalised at the level of the Executive Director / Executive Dean / Registrar of the environment, unless the employee reports directly to the mentioned Executive.

d) The Executive Dean / Executive Director / Registrar must convene a meeting with the employee and Manager within five (5) working days or on a mutually agreed period after the notice of disagreement has been submitted. The assistance of an HR Business Partner may be called upon to facilitate the meeting.
e) Appeals for employees on Peromnes 5 to 7; Senior Lecturer; Associate Professor; Professor are finalised at the level of the DVC unless the employee reports directly to the DVC, in which event the VC will be the final level.
f) The decision at the last level of appeal is final.

6.2.

Appeals submitted after the seven (7) working days of receiving the final rating will be considered on merit and at the discretion of the Human Resources Division.”

Appeal Procedure

“6.1

An employee may apply in writing to the Vice-Chancellor and Principal for leave to record an appeal after receiving the official verdict and/or sanction within three (3) working days of the sanction being communicated. Should an employee not exercise his or her right as contemplated in 6.1 and the sanction is termination of employment services, the termination date will only come into effect after the three (3) day period has lapsed and as per the notice of termination received in writing.

6.2

The substantive and procedural grounds for leave to record an appeal must be clearly defined in the application.

6.3

The Vice-Chancellor and Principal or his delegated authority grants or rejects such application within seven (7) working days after receiving the application as prescribed above.

6.4

If the application is rejected and the sanction is that of termination of services, the date of termination will be as per the final outcome communicated in writing to the employee. The employee may thereafter refer the matter to the CCMA for adjudication or any other relevant statutory body as prescribed by the related legislation.

6.5

If the application is granted, an appeal panel (which may consist of one (1) person) will be appointed to evaluate the grounds as per the scope determined by the Vice-Chancellor and Principal or his delegated authority in the ruling on the application for leave to appeal. The appeal panel may uphold, reject or amend the verdict and/or sanction. The final outcome will be communicated to the employee via the office of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal or his delegated authority. This decision will be final as officially communicated and the employee may thereafter refer the matter as prescribed in 6.4.”