Quick answer
After dismissal, the safest approach before a first legal consultation is to protect the deadline, preserve the record as it exists and avoid irreversible steps.
How to use this guide
Do not wait for a perfect file, alter or delete material, enter systems without authority, publish accusations, coordinate accounts with potential witnesses, sign documents you do not understand or hide adverse facts from the lawyer. Use a safe substitute for each risky action and record who must complete it by when.
These precautions do not imply that you have done anything wrong. They are designed to keep a difficult employment dispute from being complicated by avoidable delay, lost context or a new disagreement about conduct.
For help assembling the underlying material, use the separate consultation evidence-map guide. This article covers the conduct-control checklist, not the evidence map.
Use a do-not-damage control sheet
Complete this table with real names and dates. “Immediately” is not a useful deadline unless someone is responsible for the action.
| Action to avoid | Risk created | Safe substitute | Owner | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waiting for every record before checking the referral date | A time limit may pass while the file remains incomplete | Record the dismissal and appeal dates and obtain focused deadline advice | Employee or instructed adviser | Specific date and time |
| Assuming an appeal, grievance or negotiation automatically pauses the clock | The wrong starting date may be used | Preserve every decision date and confirm which date controls | Adviser | Before the earliest possible deadline |
| Editing, renaming or deleting original material | Context or authenticity may be disputed | Keep originals unchanged; annotate a labelled working copy | Employee | Now |
| Trying to replace a missing contemporaneous record | A later reconstruction may be mistaken for an original | Record the gap and make a new, dated recollection note | Employee | Same day |
| Entering an employer's account or system without authority | A separate access or confidentiality dispute may arise | Stop access and identify a lawful request route | Employee | Immediately |
| Copying large amounts of unrelated workplace data | Irrelevant confidential or personal information may be exposed | Identify only the specific record and obtain advice on access | Employee and adviser | Before collection or sharing |
| Posting allegations or evidence publicly | Confidentiality, accuracy and settlement risks may increase | Preserve the post as a draft or private note and discuss it first | Employee | Before publication |
| Asking a witness to adopt, change or align an account | Reliability may be challenged and the witness may feel pressured | Record the witness's identity and what they may personally know | Adviser to guide any contact | Before contact |
| Signing a settlement, resignation, admission or waiver without review | Rights or disputed facts may be affected | Request time, keep the complete document and obtain focused advice | Employee | Before signature |
| Sending a long emotional merits email | New admissions, inaccuracies or unnecessary disputes may be created | Send only a short logistical request where needed | Employee or adviser | After review |
| Withholding an adverse message, warning or inconsistency | Advice may be based on an incomplete risk picture | Disclose it privately and explain the surrounding context | Employee | Before or during consultation |
| Giving a lawyer a vague instruction to “handle everything” | Deadlines and responsibilities may fall between people | Confirm the immediate task, owner, deliverable and due date in writing | Employee and adviser | End of consultation |
The safe substitute is not a guarantee that the case will succeed. It is a controlled next step that preserves options while the matter is assessed.
Mistake 1: waiting for a perfect file
An incomplete evidence file is not a safe reason to postpone checking the deadline.
Section 191 of the Labour Relations Act generally requires an unfair-dismissal dispute to be referred within 30 days of dismissal or, if it is later, within 30 days of the employer making a final decision to dismiss or uphold the dismissal. Section 190 contains rules for identifying the dismissal date.
An internal appeal may be relevant to that calculation, but do not treat every appeal request, grievance, negotiation, record request or unanswered email as if it automatically changes the statutory date. Record all potentially relevant dates and obtain advice against the earliest plausible deadline.
Before the consultation, make a short date card:
| Date question | Your current answer | Source | Uncertainty requiring advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| When was dismissal communicated? | Outcome letter or email | ||
| What effective date was stated? | Outcome letter or payroll record | ||
| When did employment actually end? | Last working day or payroll evidence | ||
| Was an internal appeal allowed and submitted? | Policy, appeal and delivery proof | ||
| Was there a final appeal decision? | Written decision or correspondence | ||
| What is the earliest possible referral deadline? | To be confirmed |
Do not fill the last row with a guess. Its purpose is to force a time-sensitive question into the consultation.
The unfair-dismissal guide explains the broader first-30-days route. The separate pre-CCMA referral check owns the actual referral-readiness record.
Mistake 2: changing the record to make it clearer
Do not “clean up” an original email, message export, document, photograph, audio file or note.
Avoid:
- changing an original filename or file format;
- cropping away surrounding message context;
- writing comments into the only copy;
- correcting spelling or dates in a contemporaneous note;
- deleting duplicate-looking messages before checking whether their metadata differs;
- recreating an attachment that cannot be found; or
- removing an adverse page from a sequence.
Clarity should be added in a separate working document. For example, you may prepare a labelled index or a new dated note explaining what you now remember. Keep that material distinct from the original.
The current Code of Practice: Dismissal asks fact-specific questions about the rule, the alleged contravention, employee knowledge, seriousness, harm, consistency, sanction and procedure. An unchanged record helps an adviser determine which of those questions the available material can actually answer.
If an original has already been edited, lost or deleted, do not conceal the event or create a substitute that appears contemporaneous. Record what happened, preserve what remains and disclose the problem candidly.
Mistake 3: accessing records without authority
Dismissal does not give a former employee unrestricted permission to search an employer's systems or collect workplace data.
Do not:
- use a colleague's password;
- continue using credentials after access has been withdrawn;
- bypass a technical control;
- ask someone to secretly download a broad mailbox or drive;
- take customer, patient, supplier or employee records unrelated to the dispute; or
- forward an entire confidential database because one entry may be relevant.
The safer course is to identify the specific missing record, why it may matter and the person or system likely to hold it. Ask the lawyer about an appropriate request or later procedural route.
If a record is already lawfully in your possession, preserve it securely and flag any confidentiality, privacy or privilege concern before sharing it widely. Do not assume that relevance to an employment dispute resolves every restriction on access, possession or disclosure.
This is a precaution, not an accusation. Access arrangements differ across workplaces, and the legal position depends on the facts.
Mistake 4: arguing the case in public
A social-media post, group message or public review rarely improves the consultation file.
Public statements can:
- fix an inaccurate version of events before the evidence has been reviewed;
- disclose hearing material or third-party information;
- provoke satellite disputes;
- affect relationships with potential witnesses;
- complicate settlement discussions; or
- create a distracting record that must later be explained.
Preserve what you want to say in a private, dated note. Separate direct facts from conclusions and questions. Take that note to the consultation instead of publishing it.
If something has already been posted, do not begin deleting or editing it without first preserving an accurate record and obtaining advice. A hurried attempt to remove history can create a second dispute about what existed.
Keep necessary logistical correspondence short and neutral. A focused request for a hearing record or written appeal outcome does not need a full argument about fairness.
Mistake 5: shaping another person's account
A potential witness should be able to explain what that person personally saw, heard, did or recorded.
Do not ask a colleague to:
- agree with your version before giving their own;
- copy your chronology;
- omit an inconvenient fact;
- sign wording they did not prepare or understand;
- retrieve records without authority; or
- keep workplace contact secret from a later process.
Before the consultation, record the person's name, contact details if lawfully held, role and the topic on which they may have personal knowledge. Ask the lawyer whether, when and by whom contact should occur.
You may preserve an unsolicited message already received. Keep the complete context. Do not turn an informal conversation into a coached statement.
Mistake 6: signing before understanding the document
A post-dismissal document may be described as an acknowledgement, appeal outcome, final-payment form, resignation, settlement, confidentiality undertaking, waiver or full-and-final agreement. The label does not tell you all its effects.
Before signing:
- obtain the complete document and any schedules;
- identify the deadline said to apply;
- separate receipt of the document from agreement with its contents;
- mark statements of fact you do not understand or dispute;
- identify any release, confidentiality, repayment or withdrawal wording;
- ask whether the document affects the existing dismissal account or intended referral; and
- retain the version presented for signature.
Do not alter and sign a document unless the other party clearly accepts the changes. Do not sign a separate page without the complete document attached.
If you have already signed something, provide the complete signed version and the surrounding communications. Do not assume that it is automatically decisive or automatically irrelevant.
Mistake 7: hiding the difficult facts
A first consultation is not improved by presenting only favourable material.
Tell the lawyer about:
- admissions or apologies;
- earlier warnings;
- policies you acknowledged;
- evidence the employer relied on;
- inconsistencies in your accounts;
- missing or altered material;
- relevant public posts;
- contact with witnesses;
- other proceedings or agreements; and
- any document already signed.
Section 192 of the Labour Relations Act places the initial burden on the employee to establish a dismissal. Once dismissal is established, the employer must prove fairness. That does not make adverse employee evidence unimportant. The current dismissal Code requires a contextual assessment, and the employer's competing account needs to be anticipated.
Use this candid-risk note:
| Difficult fact | Source | What you accept | What you dispute or cannot confirm | Context still needed | Question for the lawyer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Do not turn the last column into your preferred answer. The point is to obtain advice that remains reliable after the employer's material is considered.
Mistake 8: leaving responsibility unclear
A consultation does not itself file a referral, request a record or stop a deadline.
End the meeting with a responsibility note:
| Required action | Person responsible | Deliverable | Due date | Proof of completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confirm the controlling date | Written date assessment | |||
| Identify likely council or CCMA route | Forum note | |||
| Prepare or review immediate referral | Agreed document or advice | |||
| Request a specific missing record | Focused request | |||
| Advise on a document awaiting signature | Written recommendation |
Confirm the immediate scope in writing after the consultation. Do not assume that sending documents created an unlimited mandate or that somebody else is completing a procedural step.
The retained labour-lawyer guide owns provider selection, representation, scope and fee comparison. This checklist deals only with preventing pre-consultation damage and clarifying the immediate handoff.
Your safe pre-consultation sequence
- Record the dismissal, effective and appeal dates.
- Identify the earliest plausible deadline and escalate uncertainty.
- Preserve originals without changes.
- Stop any questionable access or collection.
- Keep allegations and evidence out of public channels.
- Do not coordinate another person's version.
- Isolate any document awaiting signature.
- List adverse facts privately.
- Define the decision needed from the consultation.
- Leave the consultation with a named owner and due date for every urgent action.
If urgent help is needed because a deadline is close, a signature is requested, evidence is disappearing or the forum is uncertain, use the separate urgent legal-help guide.
Official source notes
- Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995: sections 188 and 190–192 on dismissal fairness, the dismissal date, referral timing and the burden of proof.
- Code of Practice: Dismissal, Government Notice 3470 of 2025: the operative general dismissal code effective from 4 September 2025; its publication repealed the former Schedule 8 dismissal code.
- CCMA unfair-dismissal information sheet: general official guidance on dismissal dates, fairness, burden and referral timing; current rules and directions should also be checked.
Legal disclaimer
This article provides general South African labour-law information, not advice on a particular dismissal, deadline, document or course of conduct. It does not imply that a reader has accessed information improperly, breached confidentiality or committed any wrongdoing. If an original was changed, information was obtained or shared, a statement was published, a witness was contacted or a document was signed, preserve an accurate account and obtain matter-specific advice rather than concealing or attempting to reverse the history. Advice is especially important for the dismissal and appeal dates, forum, late referral, confidentiality, privacy, privilege, settlement wording and any immediate procedural step.
FAQs
What is the biggest mistake to avoid before a dismissal consultation?
Do not let preparation delay protection of the earliest possible referral date. Record the dismissal and appeal dates immediately and obtain focused deadline and forum advice even if records are still missing.
Should I edit screenshots or notes to make them clearer for a lawyer?
Keep original files and contemporaneous notes unchanged. Add clarity in a separately labelled working copy or a new dated recollection note so the original context and history remain visible.
Should I contact witnesses before the first consultation?
Record who may have personal knowledge and ask for advice about appropriate contact. Do not ask anyone to adopt your chronology, align an account, omit a fact or retrieve records without authority.
What if I already posted, signed or changed something?
Do not conceal or attempt to rewrite the history. Preserve an accurate copy and surrounding context, disclose it privately to the adviser and obtain matter-specific advice on the safest next step.
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Source notes
Legal note
This article is general legal information for South African readers. It is not legal advice. Speak to a qualified legal professional about your specific facts before taking action.