---
title: "Issuing a Sanction"
space: "Industrial Relations Documentation"
url: "http://www.buff0k.co.za/ir-docs/issuing-a-sanction"
updated: "2026-08-17"
---

# Issuing a Sanction

Once the hearing is done, the case is closed out by issuing exactly one sanction document from its Actions menu. Every sanction is a real, submittable document with its own real effect on the Employee record - and every one of them writes the case's final `outcome`, `outcome_date`, `outcome_start`, and `outcome_end` back onto the source case.

| Sanction | Employee record effect |
| --- | --- |
| **Warning Form** | None to the employee record itself - it's the sanction. |
| **Suspension Form** (Precautionary or Punitive) | Employee status set to Suspended. Only a **Punitive** suspension writes the case outcome - a Precautionary one is provisional and doesn't. |
| **Demotion Form** | Employee's Designation changed, recorded as a new Internal Work History entry. Temporary demotions carry an end date. |
| **Pay Deduction Form** / **Pay Reduction Form** | A monetary deduction/reduction amount and date range, no designation or status change. |
| **Dismissal Form** | Employee status set to Left, with a Relieving Date. |
| **No Further Action Form** | No employee-record effect - used for a Not Guilty finding, a Performance Improved result, an incapacity Not Incapacitated finding, or (via the case's own "Cancel" button) a Cancelled outcome. |

Every sanction requires a signed copy attached before it can be submitted, the same way an NTA Enquiry does.

## Worked example: Demotion Form

![A Demotion Form filled in from a Disciplinary Action: demotion type, from/end dates, new position, and the signed copy attached](/files/ir-demotion-form-filleda4c36e.png)

Submitting this Demotion Form immediately:

1. Adds a new **Internal Work History** row on the Employee record (old designation closed out, new one opened, dated from the demotion's own **From Date**).
2. Changes the Employee's **Designation** to the new position.
3. Writes the case's `outcome` (the Offence Outcome record, e.g. "Temporary Demotion"), plus a plain-language `outcome_start`/`outcome_end` narrative.

The source case itself still needs to be **submitted separately** once its sanction is in - issuing the sanction doesn't automatically submit the case.

![The submitted Disciplinary Action, its outcome now recorded](/files/ir-disciplinary-action-submitteda6b512.png)

Next: **Automatic Demotion Reversal**, or skip ahead to **Appeal Against Outcome** if the decision needs to be challenged.