The CCMA: How a Dismissal Dispute Actually Works

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration exists so that an ordinary employee can challenge a dismissal without money or a lawyer. It is free, it is designed to be used without representation, and it handles a very large volume of cases every year.

What defeats most people is not the process. It is the deadline.

The deadlines, which are short

Unfair dismissal: 30 days from the date of dismissal.

Unfair labour practice: 90 days from the act or omission — this covers disputes about promotion, demotion, training, benefits and disciplinary action short of dismissal.

Late referrals require a condonation application explaining the delay, and condonation is not granted as a formality. A good case referred late frequently fails on that alone.

If you are dismissed and think it was unfair, the referral is the first thing to do, not the last. You can refine the argument afterwards; you cannot recover the deadline.

Who can use it

Employees, including those on fixed-term contracts and, in many circumstances, people whose employer says they are independent contractors. The CCMA can decide whether someone is genuinely an employee, and the label in a contract does not settle it.

There are exclusions — employees covered by a bargaining council with jurisdiction over that sector must go to the council instead, and some categories fall under the Labour Court directly. If you refer to the wrong forum, you will be told, but you will also have lost time.

The burden sits with the employer

This is the point that changes how people approach it.

Once you establish that you were dismissed, the employer must prove the dismissal was fair — both substantively and procedurally. You do not have to prove it was unfair.

Substantive fairness asks whether there was a valid reason: misconduct, incapacity, or operational requirements.

Procedural fairness asks whether a proper process was followed: were you told of the allegations, given a chance to respond, allowed a representative from the workplace, and informed of the outcome.

An employer can lose on procedure alone even where the misconduct occurred. That is deliberate — the process is part of the right.

The two stages

Conciliation comes first. A commissioner meets both parties to try to settle. It is informal, without prejudice, and nothing said there can be used later. Many disputes end here, often with a payment or an agreed reference.

If it does not settle, the commissioner issues a certificate that the dispute remains unresolved. That certificate is what allows you to go further.

Arbitration is the hearing. Evidence is led, witnesses testify, and the commissioner issues a binding award. It functions like a court hearing but with fewer formalities.

Many matters are set down as con-arb: conciliation, and if that fails, arbitration on the same day. That is efficient, but it means you should arrive prepared to run the whole case, not just to talk.

Representation

At conciliation you represent yourself, or a co-worker or union official assists. Lawyers are not permitted.

At arbitration, legal representation is limited for dismissals relating to misconduct or incapacity — the commissioner may allow it, and both sides are affected equally. For dismissals based on operational requirements the position is more open.

The design intent is that an unrepresented employee is not outgunned. In practice, preparation matters more than representation: a person with dates, documents and a clear sequence of events does well.

What you can win

Reinstatement — your job back, potentially with back pay. This is the primary remedy the Act contemplates for an unfair dismissal, though it is not always practical.

Re-employment on new terms.

Compensation, capped at the equivalent of 12 months' remuneration for an ordinary unfair dismissal, and up to 24 months where the dismissal was automatically unfair — which covers dismissals for reasons such as pregnancy, trade union membership, or discrimination.

Compensation is not automatic and is not calculated as damages for everything you lost. The commissioner decides what is just and equitable in the circumstances.

Preparing properly

The cases that succeed are the organised ones.

1. Write a timeline of what happened, with dates.
2. Collect documents: your contract, payslips, the disciplinary notice, minutes of the hearing, the outcome letter, relevant emails and messages.
3. Identify witnesses who saw the events, not people who will say you are a good person.
4. Be clear what you want — your job back, or compensation. You will be asked.
5. Arrive early with copies for the commissioner and the other side.
6. Stick to the facts. A calm, chronological account is far more effective than an account of how unfairly you feel you were treated.

What a typical case looks like end to end

Someone is dismissed on a Friday for allegedly falsifying a timesheet.

Week one. They complete a referral form — available at any CCMA office, online, or by post — and serve a copy on the employer. The form asks what happened, when, and what outcome they want. It is short, and it is the whole of what is required to start.

Weeks four to eight. A conciliation date is set. Both sides attend. The employer offers one month's pay to settle; the employee declines because they want the dismissal expunged rather than money. A certificate of non-resolution is issued.

Weeks eight to sixteen. Arbitration. The employer must go first, because the onus is theirs. Their witness concedes under questioning that the employee was never shown the timesheet in question before the disciplinary hearing, and was not told they could call a witness of their own.

The award. The commissioner may find the reason valid but the process defective, and order compensation rather than reinstatement — or, if the evidence of misconduct does not hold up, order reinstatement with back pay.

The elapsed time is typically a few months, not years. That is the practical case for using it rather than the Labour Court.

Settling, and when to take the offer

A large share of matters settle at conciliation, and there is nothing second-rate about that outcome.

What to weigh: a settlement is certain, immediate, and usually confidential, and it can include a mutually agreed reference or a change to the reason for termination on your record. An arbitration award is uncertain, months away, and public.

What to check before signing: whether the amount is paid gross or net and how it will be taxed, whether it is described as compensation for loss of employment, whether the reason for termination is being amended, and whether you are giving up the right to pursue anything else. A settlement agreement made an award of the CCMA is enforceable, which is worth asking for.

Do not sign on the day if the terms are complex. You are entitled to take the document away and read it.

If you win and the employer ignores it

An arbitration award is binding. If the employer does not comply, you can have it certified by the CCMA director, after which it is enforceable in the same way as a court order — a sheriff can attach assets, and in some circumstances non-compliance is a contempt matter.

You do not go back to square one. Certification is an administrative step, not a fresh case, and it is one of the reasons an award is worth more than an informal promise.

What it does not cover

The CCMA is not a general forum for workplace unhappiness. It handles dismissals, unfair labour practices, wage disputes under the BCEA, and certain discrimination matters.

It does not enforce a resignation you regret, adjudicate a personality clash, or review a decision that was simply harsh but lawful. And if you resigned, you must first establish constructive dismissal — that the employer made continued employment intolerable — which is a demanding test. See what you are owed when you resign.

Retrenchment has its own process before it reaches the CCMA, and the consultation requirements are where most retrenchment disputes are actually won or lost.

Frequently asked questions

Does it cost anything?

No. Referring a dispute to the CCMA is free. Your costs are your time and travel.

Do I need a lawyer?

No, and at arbitration for misconduct or incapacity you generally may not have one without the commissioner's permission. The process is built to be used without representation.

What if I miss the 30 days?

You must apply for condonation, explaining the delay and why the case has merit. It is granted at the commissioner's discretion and should not be relied on.