New to Domestic Inquiries: Can Anyone Walk Me Through the Steps and Recommend a Book?

Dear Friends,

I am new to this forum. Can someone guide me through all the procedures and steps of a domestic inquiry? Is there any book on this subject? Please, let me know.

Regards,
Vikram Singh

Hi Vikram,

Welcome to citehr.com.

"I am new to this forum. Can someone guide me about all the procedures and steps of a domestic inquiry? Is there any book on this subject? Please let me know.

Regards,

Vikram Singh,"

Well, yesterday I just concluded the domestic inquiry of a workman in our factory, which took almost a year. Therefore, let me share some points on the same.

Procedure of holding a domestic inquiry:

- A workman against whom an inquiry is to be held is to be given a charge sheet clearly stating the charges leveled against him and asking him to submit his explanation.

- Management has to appoint an Enquiry Officer (EO) and a Management Representative (MR) for the inquiry as per the charge sheet.

- Management reserves the right to suspend the workman pending inquiry depending upon the gravity of the charges.

- The workman is permitted to defend himself by another workman or by an office bearer of the Trade Union of which he is a member - Defense Representative (DR).

- In a Domestic inquiry - starts with the recording of the statements and letters as per the charge sheet. The workman is allowed to produce witnesses in his defense and cross-examine the witness of the Management. The EO shall record a concise summary of the evidence and the questions and answers asked by both parties.

- The proceedings of the inquiry shall be conducted in English, Hindi, or in the language of the state where the Industrial establishment is located.

- After it is over, sometimes it takes a year or more - the EO should submit his findings giving a brief reason.

- Appointment of EO - The management can appoint:

a. An officer employed in his Industrial establishment

b. An officer from outside

c. An advocate

In normal circumstances, it is better to have an advocate to give credibility to the proceedings.

- On the receipt of the finding report from the EO, the Management should give a letter to the workman along with the finding report of the EO for his explanation.

- On the receipt of the same, Management can accord punishments to the workman found guilty of misconduct. There are four types of punishments:

1. Dismissal without any notice

2. Suspension for a period of not more than 4 days

3. Fine

4. Warning or censure.

- Points to remember while according to the punishment:

1. Gravity of the misconduct

2. Previous records, if any

3. Aggravating circumstances that may exist.

- The doctrine of proof beyond doubt as applicable in a criminal trial is not applicable here. This is as per the judgment held in High Court Judicature of Bombay v/s Udaysingh Ganpatrao, 1997/CLR 1122 S.C.

Also, looking forward to finer points on this matter by Anil Anand as well.

Hope this helps.

Have a great weekend.

Cheers,

Rajat

Dear Vikram,

As someone who has defended employees for many years, I would like to add to what Rajat has already said.

A domestic inquiry arises from the charge sheet, which describes misconduct falling under the Standing Orders Act or any other act relevant to the company. If another act is involved, it must be ratified by the Board of Directors and specifically mentioned in the Standing Orders Act of 1949 for consideration in determining misconduct. In my opinion, misconduct is a state of mind, and any allegations should be clear. Charges must be substantiated to proceed against the employee, with supporting evidence such as witnesses and documents. Documents provided by the management cannot be accepted without question. If the employee believes the documents are biased and challenges them, they must present contradictory evidence during the inquiry.

The management involves two key individuals: the Presenting Officer, who presents the case and acts as prosecution, and the defense assistant (or legal assistant if a lawyer represents the employee). Our domestic inquiries follow an adversarial system with opposing parties – the presenting officer and the defense. After the examination of witnesses or documents, the defense has the right to cross-examine, and the management can reexamine witnesses based on the defense's cross-examination, leading to further cross-examination by the defense. This privilege, granted by higher courts and the Supreme Court, ensures justice and fair play for employees. Following the inquiry, both the Presenting Officer and the Defense present their arguments, and the Inquiry Officer provides findings. Once the findings and supposed punishment are communicated to the employee by the Disciplinary Authority, the employee can appeal against the punishment if deemed excessive.

For further inquiries, please contact me at raghavan_1946@yahoo.co.in.

Best wishes,

Raghavan V

Hi friends,

Really valuable sharing by Mr. Rajat but still, I have the following doubts in this regard:

- Suppose an employee confesses to his misconduct in writing and allows the management to take any action. Now, my question is, whether under these circumstances it is obligatory/legal to issue a charge sheet to him even after his confession and conduct a domestic enquiry to take further action or not?

- Rajat, you have mentioned about the punishments after the completion of a domestic enquiry that we can suspend the concerned employee for not more than 4 days. Is it a legal obligation not to suspend for more than 4 days?

- Is there any time limit to complete the domestic enquiry?

Please clarify.

Regards,

Hi,

I would like to add my opinion on the above subject:

1) Even if the employee confesses to his misconduct in writing, it would be better to have a domestic enquiry. If the misconduct warrants minor punishment and the employee has confessed to his misconduct in writing, the employer can waive the conduct of a domestic enquiry. Suppose the punishment to be given is a major one, even though the employee has confessed his misconduct, it would be better to have a domestic enquiry.

2) As far as I know, an employee can be suspended for more than 4 days. Again, this depends upon the gravity of the misconduct and the standing orders of the company.

3) The law does not specify any time limit for the completion of a domestic enquiry. It has to be conducted within a reasonable period.

If there are any corrections to the above points, I would be happy to receive the feedback.

Sivakumar.

Hello,

Just to add to Mr. Shiva's point... In order to determine whether suspension for more than 4 days is warranted, one must check if the provision regarding this issue is outlined in the company's Certified Standing Orders. If the company does not have its Certified Standing Orders, the Model Standing Orders provided under the Industrial Establishment Standing Orders Act automatically apply to the company. In such a scenario, the management is not allowed to suspend the delinquent employee for more than 4 days, as stipulated in the Model Standing Orders.

Feedback is welcomed.

Regards,
Samarth Desai.

For ready reference, please see a PPT on "Disciplinary Action" posted in the Labour and Employees forum last week.

Madhu.T.K

Hi,

As per the suggestion of Madhu, I am attaching the PPT herewith. With the great comments of Rajat and other members, this PPT will help you a lot.

Regards,
Kanni

Please read the book written by H.L. Kumar on Domestic Inquiry. Domestic inquiry requires a lot of care at the inquiry level as the basic preliminary issues of fairness and perversity are decided by courts before proceeding to the merits of the case.

Regards,
Ravi

Dear,

I would like to add a little bit more about this issue.

In case of a reported misconduct, there SHOULD BE a proper Show Cause Notice. If a reply is received, proceed towards suspension and conduct an inquiry; otherwise, issue a Show Cause Notice again. A workman can be suspended for 4 days at a time but not more than 4 weeks in total. The workman will be entitled to 50% wages during the suspension period, and if the misconduct is not proven, they will receive 100%.

The Enquiry Officer must write down all the inquiry proceedings from both parties: Firstly, the EO records the statement of the plaintiff, questions (by EO and the defensive side), and answers, and the same for the evidence provided by the plaintiff's side. The same process applies to the defendant and the evidence provided from their side. All these activities must be in writing and signed by every party concerned on the relevant page. It is preferred to use a separate page for each person.

Additionally, attendance must be properly recorded.

Finally, the EO must summarize all the inquiries, prepare a report of findings only, and submit it to the management. The EO is not authorized to award any type of punishment.

Furthermore, the inquiry is compulsory; even if the accused person confesses in writing, the process should be completed for future purposes, regardless of the decision made by the management.

Feedback is welcomed.

Thank you.

m.asif.comboh

Email: asifcomboh@hotmail.com

Dear Mr. Raghavan,

The above-mentioned information is informative, but it raised a question of which I was not aware: i.e., appealing if the punishment is higher. Could you please tell me to whom the worker can appeal further?

Regards,
Upasana Talukdar

Hi Vikram,

I think your query has been solved beautifully by Rajat. But a few more points may be included. Rajat, correct me if I'm wrong.

Welcome to citehr.com.

Quote:
I am new to this forum. Can someone guide me about all the procedures and steps of a domestic inquiry? Is there any book on this subject? Please let me know.

Regards,

Vikram Singh,

Well, yesterday I concluded the domestic inquiry of a workman in our factory, which took almost a year. Therefore, let me share some points on the same.

Procedure of holding a domestic inquiry:

- A workman against whom an inquiry is to be held is to be given a charge sheet clearly stating the charges leveled against him and asking him to submit his explanation.

- Management has to appoint an Enquiry Officer (EO) and a Management Representative (MR) for the inquiry as per the charge sheet.

- Enquiry Officer (EO) will inform about the date on which the inquiry has to start in writing from his side.

- Management reserves the right to suspend the workman pending inquiry depending upon the gravity of the charges.

- The workman is permitted to defend himself by another workman or by an office bearer of Trade Union of which he is a member - Defense Representative (DR).

- In a domestic inquiry, it starts with the recording of the statements and letters as per the charge sheet. The workman is allowed to produce witnesses in his defense and cross-examine the witness of the Management. EO shall record a concise summary of the evidences and questions and answers asked by both the parties.

- The proceedings of the inquiry shall be conducted in English, Hindi, or in the language of the state where the industrial establishment is located, or the language which is understood by the delinquent employee.

- After it is over, sometimes it takes a year or more, EO should submit his findings giving brief reasons.

- EO appointment - The management can appoint:
a. An officer employed in his industrial establishment
b. An officer from outside
c. An advocate

In normal circumstances, it is better to have an advocate to give credibility to the proceedings.

- On the receipt of the finding report from EO, the Management should give a letter to the workman along with the finding report of EO for his explanation.

- On the receipt of the same, Management can accord punishments to the workman found guilty of misconduct. Here, there are four types of punishments:
1. Dismissal without any notice
2. Suspension for a period of not more than 4 days
3. Fine
4. Warning or censure.

- Points to remember while according to the punishment:
1. Gravity of the misconduct
2. Previous records if any
3. Aggravating circumstances that may exist.

- The doctrine of proof beyond doubt as applicable in criminal trial is not applicable here. This is as per the judgment held in High Court Judicature of Bombay vs. Udaysingh Ganpatrao, 1997/CLR 1122 S.C.

My employer, the insurance company, has suspended me on a so-called "grave" charge mentioned in the charge memo for "leaving headquarters" to seek treatment from a doctor outside the employment headquarters, approximately 50 km away. They have not provided me with the charge memo in my preferred language, English, despite 4 months of inquiry. In the latest inquiry proceeding, the authority claimed privilege to decide whether the document was of legal or technical nature or not.

Please advise.

Hi all,

I would like to know what to do if an employee resigns during a domestic inquiry. Should I:

1. Accept his resignation and stop the inquiry.
2. Keep his resignation and wait for the inquiry to finish.

Also, what will be his resignation date?

Looking forward to your reply.

Sameer

Dear All,

Please let me know how many laws are applicable under the new Factories Act.

Please give me details of the Act.

Regards,

Rahul Tiwari

Sir, I don't know where to post my question. I am working on a domestic enquiry project. Could you please send me notes on this topic?

Friends, these are some very informative and useful posts.

My specific question is how does the company treat the absence of workers who attend off-site enquiries (outside the factory) as "witnesses on behalf of the chargesheeted worker"? Are they required to apply for leave (i.e., paid for by themselves) or does the company depute them on duty (i.e., paid for by the company)?

Thanks & Regards,
Kalpana Iyer

Dear Mr. Madhu,

I seek your help to guide me on what questions to ask a Prosecuting Officer in a domestic inquiry on insubordination. For your information, we have a case in our organization where an employee refused to transfer from one workplace to another despite being given a letter of transfer.

Your advice, please.

Dear Asif, (or any other forum members please)

Could you please shed more light on the following:

Management has appointed an Inquiry Officer. A delinquent employee is involved. If management appoints a Presenting Officer, how will the inquiry proceed?

1. EO asks the PO to read the memo of charges and the statement of allegations.

2. EO asks the DE if he has anything to say and records that.

3. PO lists out his witnesses and documentary evidence.

4. Copies are given to DE.

5. PO's witnesses (Management witnesses) are first questioned by the PO.

6. Cross-examination by the DE.

Then the same procedure is repeated for the DE as well:

7. EO asks the DE to provide a list of his witnesses (Defense Witnesses) and any documentary evidence.

8. DWs are first questioned by the DE and then cross-examined by the PO.

After each cross-examination, the PO and DE can re-examine the witness from the other side.

The Inquiry Officer conducts these proceedings in an orderly manner and only asks questions for clarification. Afterward, the hearing is closed, and the EO prepares his findings to submit to the management.

Am I correct?

If management does not appoint a Presenting Officer, should the EO also take on the role of the Presenting Officer?

I urgently need clarification on the above steps as I have to conduct an inquiry shortly. I lack experience in this matter and have no guidance.

Thanks in advance.

Please find the attachment of the Hindi language charge sheet.

Regards,
Dheeraj

Can someone explain the difference between a charge sheet and a show cause for any disciplinary action?