CCMA Process in South Africa: Step-by-Step Guide

Key takeaways

• Classify the dispute and forum before completing a referral form.
• Calculate the earliest plausible referral deadline from the source event; internal appeals or discussions do not necessarily stop it.
• Keep the completed referral, proof of service, filing receipt and every CCMA notice together.
• Conciliation focuses on possible settlement; arbitration is an evidence-led decision process.

1. Confirm whether the CCMA is the correct forum

Before referral, record:

• the employee or former employee;
• the correct employer entity;
• employment status and workplace;
• any registered bargaining council or statutory council;
• any collective agreement or private dispute process;
• the event complained of;
• the outcome already issued; and
• the relief being considered.

The CCMA online platform warns that disputes covered by a bargaining council, statutory council or accredited agency should be referred to that body. Jurisdiction can also depend on employee status, dispute type and applicable legislation.

Do not choose the forum because “CCMA” appears in an online result. If the employer entity, council coverage or legal character is uncertain, preserve the earliest date and obtain prompt labour-law guidance. The labour-law hub can orient the topic while the official forum determines the live procedure.

2. Identify the dispute and trigger date

Write the problem in neutral terms and attach it to a source event. Examples include:

• a dismissal and the date it took effect;
• a later internal decision confirming dismissal;
• an alleged unfair labour practice and the act or omission relied on;
• an alleged unfair-discrimination event;
• unpaid remuneration or another statutory entitlement;
• a retrenchment or operational-requirements process;
• a refusal to bargain or collective dispute; or
• another employment-related act.

One set of facts can raise more than one dispute, each with a different trigger, forum or remedy. Do not collapse a dismissal, unpaid wages, discrimination and contractual claim into one label without review.

For a dismissal-specific orientation, use the unfair-dismissal guide. Keep the dismissal letter, hearing outcome, appeal result and proof of when each document was received.

3. Calculate the referral period immediately

The Labour Relations Act and current CCMA conciliation guidance use different periods for different disputes. In general terms, the public guidance identifies:

These are not a universal deadline table. Other claims, councils, statutes and processes can differ. Calculate from the exact record and use the earliest plausible date until a qualified person confirms otherwise.

If a referral is late, a condonation application may be required and is not automatic. Preserve the delay chronology, reason, steps taken, prejudice and merits information. Do not wait for an internal grievance, appeal, negotiation or promised response on the assumption that the statutory period has paused.

4. Prepare the referral record

LRA Form 7.11 is commonly used to refer a dispute for conciliation, including con-arb where applicable. The LRA Form 7.11 glossary explains the document at a high level; use the current official form and instructions for filing.

Prepare:

• correct party names and contact details;
• the dispute category;
• the trigger and referral dates;
• a concise factual summary;
• the outcome sought;
• the selected CCMA or council route;
• any condonation material;
• signature and authority; and
• the documents the form requires.

Avoid writing an argument-heavy narrative in a field designed for concise referral information. At the same time, do not omit a dispute or party merely to make the form shorter. A later amendment may not cure every jurisdictional or deadline problem.

5. Serve and file with proof

Follow the current rules and form instructions for service on the other party and filing with the CCMA or correct council. Keep:

• the exact filed version;
• every attachment;
• email headers, portal receipt or office stamp;
• proof of service and address used;
• delivery, bounce or read records;
• the CCMA case number; and
• any response about defects or missing information.

Do not edit the filed copy after submission. Make a separate working copy for notes. If the other party's address or identity is disputed, preserve the source used and obtain procedural guidance.

6. Read every notice of set down line by line

The notice should drive preparation. Record:

• case number and parties;
• date, time and venue or virtual link;
• whether the event is conciliation, arbitration, con-arb or another hearing;
• the dispute category stated;
• attendance and document instructions;
• interpreter or accessibility arrangements;
• representation information;
• postponement requirements; and
• contact details for procedural queries.

A generic CCMA checklist cannot override the notice. Add each direction to one control sheet and confirm any ambiguity through the official channel before the event.

7. Prepare for conciliation

Conciliation is a confidential, settlement-focused process in which a commissioner assists the parties to explore resolution. The commissioner does not decide the merits by issuing an arbitration award at this stage.

Bring a concise chronology, core documents, the practical outcome sought and settlement authority. Separate:

• facts that are agreed;
• facts that remain disputed;
• non-negotiable operational limits;
• possible settlement terms;
• tax, payment and implementation questions; and
• what must be recorded if agreement is reached.

Settlement is voluntary. Read any proposed agreement carefully, confirm authority, payment dates, tax treatment, confidentiality, withdrawal or waiver language, enforcement route and what happens to related disputes. Do not sign merely because the session is ending.

8. Understand the certificate of outcome

If the dispute is not resolved at conciliation, a certificate may record that result. Keep the certificate and note the date it was issued or received.

The next step depends on the dispute. Some unresolved matters may proceed to CCMA or council arbitration; some go to the Labour Court; some collective disputes may have an industrial-action route; and some require another forum. The certificate does not choose the correct route for every case or decide that the referring party was right.

Ask:

1. What exactly was certified unresolved?
2. Which forum now has jurisdiction?
3. Is a further form or request required?
4. What period runs from the certificate or unresolved event?
5. Does a related dispute follow a different route?

9. Treat con-arb as two possible stages

Con-arb combines conciliation and arbitration in one scheduled process. If conciliation does not resolve the dispute, arbitration may begin immediately where the process applies.

Read the notice and current rules for eligibility, compulsory categories, exclusions, objections and late objections. Do not assume an objection is available or timely in every matter.

Prepare two separate packs:

• Conciliation pack: short chronology, key documents, settlement range and authority.
• Arbitration pack: indexed evidence, witnesses, issues, remedy calculation, examination plan and procedural questions.

Arriving ready only to negotiate can leave a party unprepared if arbitration starts the same day.

10. Request and prepare for arbitration where applicable

The current CCMA arbitration guidance states that an eligible unresolved dispute should generally be requested for arbitration within 90 days after the certificate that it remains unresolved. The exact entitlement, form, trigger and forum must be checked.

Arbitration is evidence-led. A commissioner may hear testimony, receive documents, allow questioning and argument, and issue a binding award. Prepare:

• a list of issues the commissioner must decide;
• an indexed, paginated bundle;
• original source records and authenticity information;
• a witness list and what each witness can prove;
• a chronology tied to documents;
• the applicable policy, contract, code or collective agreement;
• the remedy sought and supporting calculation; and
• questions about onus, admissibility and procedure.

The CCMA checklist supports the general pack. For a dismissal case, the dismissal evidence pack adds focused records.

11. Check representation before the day

CCMA Rule 25 regulates representation. Legal practitioners are not automatically permitted at every stage or in every dispute. Conciliation, general arbitration, specified misconduct or incapacity dismissal arbitrations, BCEA matters and other processes can have different rules, consent requirements or commissioner discretion.

Confirm:

• the exact process stage;
• the dispute category;
• the proposed representative's status;
• the proof of union, employer-organisation, office or authority required;
• whether consent or an application is needed; and
• the plan if representation is refused.

The CCMA-representation service route can help identify the work, but the current rules and commissioner govern participation. A party may still obtain preparation advice even where a legal practitioner cannot appear in the process.

12. Attend, create a hearing record and track the outcome

Keep the notice, attendance record, rulings, settlement drafts, certificate, award and correspondence together. After the event, write down:

• what occurred procedurally;
• documents admitted or excluded;
• undertakings and due dates;
• rulings made;
• the outcome document expected;
• when and how it will be delivered; and
• the next possible compliance or challenge date.

Do not rely on memory or an informal message where a signed settlement, ruling, certificate or award should exist.

13. Separate compliance, enforcement, rescission and review

After an award or settlement, the possible issues are different:

• voluntary compliance;
• certification and enforcement;
• calculation or implementation disputes;
• rescission in circumstances recognised by section 144;
• Labour Court review under section 145; or
• another appeal, court or statutory route where available.

These steps have different tests and time periods. A review is not simply a rehearing, and starting a challenge does not automatically answer enforcement or stay questions. Obtain prompt advice from the actual outcome document.

Use the lawyer directory to compare individual labour practitioners or the law-firm directory where the file requires team capacity. The attorney-types guide explains why a practice-area label must still be tested against stage and forum experience.

Final checklist

• Employee status, parties and employer entity are recorded.
• CCMA, bargaining-council or other forum coverage is checked.
• Each dispute and trigger date is listed separately.
• The earliest plausible referral deadline is diarised.
• The filed referral and proof of service are preserved.
• Every notice instruction is on one control sheet.
• Conciliation authority is separate from arbitration proof.
• Con-arb preparation covers both possible stages.
• Representation is checked under the current rules.
• Evidence is indexed and tied to the issue it proves.
• Settlement, certificate, ruling and award documents are stored separately.
• Compliance, enforcement, rescission and review deadlines are not conflated.

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