Dismissed After a Disciplinary Hearing: Pre-Referral Checks

How to use this guide

1. On what date did the dismissal take effect?
2. Did a formal internal appeal produce a later final decision?
3. Which legal entity employed you?
4. What reason did the employer give, and what do you say the real dispute is?
5. Does the dispute belong at a bargaining council or the CCMA?
6. Can you prove both service on the employer and filing with the correct forum?
7. What practical outcome do you want?

Do this before writing a long account of everything that happened. A referral can become difficult because the wrong employer was named, the wrong date was used, the dispute went to the wrong forum, or there is no reliable proof that it was served and filed. A strong merits argument does not automatically cure those control failures.

The usual referral period for an unfair-dismissal dispute is 30 days, but that is not a universal deadline for every employment claim. The trigger date and forum can also be disputed. If any date is close, uncertain or already past, get advice promptly instead of waiting for a perfect evidence bundle.

For the process after referral, read the CCMA process guide. This article stops at the pre-referral control point.

Build the pre-referral control sheet

Use one page. Record the source of every answer rather than relying on memory.

Keep the sheet separate from the longer chronology. Its purpose is to expose a missing control before it becomes a jurisdictional or proof problem.

1. Lock down the controlling dates

Do not record only “the hearing was in June”. Capture the full sequence:

• notice of the disciplinary hearing;
• hearing date or dates;
• date of the chairperson's finding;
• date the employer communicated dismissal;
• last day worked;
• termination date shown on the dismissal letter or payroll record;
• date an internal appeal was submitted;
• date the final appeal decision was communicated; and
• the date on which you received each document.

Section 190 of the Labour Relations Act contains the rules for determining the date of dismissal. Depending on the circumstances, the hearing date, outcome date, last working day and legal dismissal date may not be the same.

Section 191 generally requires an unfair-dismissal dispute to be referred within 30 days of the dismissal or, if it is later, within 30 days of the employer's final decision to dismiss or uphold the dismissal. That later trigger should not be assumed merely because an employee sent an informal complaint, requested reasons or continued negotiating. Record the actual appeal procedure, the decision and its delivery date.

A cautious control sheet calculates from the earliest date that could reasonably govern until the position is confirmed. It can show two possible calculations:

CCMA time periods are ordinarily counted in calendar days: exclude the first day and include the last. If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the period generally runs to the next working day. Do not use that counting rule to conceal uncertainty about the trigger itself.

If the earliest possible deadline has passed, do not alter the chronology to make the referral appear timely. A late referral may require a condonation application showing good cause. Read what happens if you miss a CCMA referral deadline and get advice on the actual period of lateness.

2. Identify the correct respondent

The respondent should ordinarily be the legal employer, not simply the supervisor, brand, branch or group name most familiar to you.

Compare:

• the employer named in the employment contract;
• the entity on payslips and tax documents;
• the entity named in the disciplinary notices and dismissal letter;
• the entity that paid the salary; and
• any change-of-employer or transfer documents.

If those records point to different entities, put the discrepancy on the control sheet. Do not solve it by choosing whichever name appears most often. Group structures, outsourcing, labour broking, business transfers and disputed employment status can require advice.

Record a physical address and a verified service address for the employer. If an individual manager receives documents, record the person's name, role, address and the basis on which that method was used.

3. Separate the stated reason from the dispute you are referring

Copy the employer's stated reason exactly. Do not replace it with your conclusion.

For example:

• Employer's stated reason: misconduct — unauthorised absence.
• Employee's dispute: the rule was not properly communicated, the absence was authorised, relevant evidence was disregarded, and dismissal was inconsistent with comparable cases.

Under section 188 of the Labour Relations Act, a dismissal generally requires a fair reason related to conduct, capacity or operational requirements and a fair procedure. The current Code of Practice: Dismissal provides a case-specific framework for assessing misconduct dismissals.

The Code does not turn every procedural imperfection into automatic unfairness. A disciplinary investigation need not resemble a criminal trial. The central procedural question is generally whether the employee received an adequate and reasonable opportunity to understand and answer the allegation before the decision was made.

For misconduct, potentially relevant points include:

• whether a valid and reasonable rule or standard existed;
• whether the employee knew, or could reasonably have been expected to know, the rule;
• the importance of the rule and the actual or potential harm;
• whether the rule and sanction were applied consistently;
• the employee's explanation;
• prior discipline and prospects of correction;
• length of service and disciplinary record; and
• whether dismissal was an appropriate sanction in the circumstances.

Those matters may help you describe the dispute accurately, but this control sheet is not a full merits opinion. See the unfair-dismissal guide for the broader fairness framework.

If the facts suggest that the stated misconduct reason may conceal a prohibited or automatically unfair reason, do not casually label the case. The alleged reason can affect the route after conciliation. Record the facts and obtain classification advice.

4. Confirm the likely forum

Section 191 directs a dispute to a bargaining council where the parties fall within the registered scope of that council; otherwise, it is generally referred to the CCMA.

Before selecting the destination, check:

• the employer's industry and actual business;
• your work and workplace;
• whether a registered bargaining council covers the parties;
• the employer's membership or registration details;
• any collective agreement or contractual dispute procedure; and
• whether your employment status is disputed.

Do not assume that a CCMA form or online acknowledgement proves jurisdiction. A system can accept information before the forum question is finally determined.

Also avoid treating every dismissal as if it follows the same route after conciliation. Under section 191, disputes about conduct or capacity will ordinarily proceed to arbitration, while certain alleged reasons may place adjudication in the Labour Court. That later route does not need to be argued fully in the initial control sheet, but the description of the dispute should not hide a material jurisdictional fact.

5. Preserve separate proof of service and filing

Section 191 requires the referring employee to satisfy the council or CCMA that a copy of the referral was served on the employer.

Your file should therefore contain two distinct proof sets.

Employer service

Keep:

• the exact referral version served;
• all attachments served with it;
• the employer address or email used;
• the date and time of service; and
• the delivery receipt, affidavit, platform record or other permitted proof.

Forum filing

Keep:

• the exact referral version filed;
• the filing date and time;
• all submitted attachments;
• the acknowledgement;
• any reference or case number; and
• screenshots or exported records needed to reconcile an online submission.

A completed but unsent LRA Form 7.11 is not proof of filing. An email in a drafts folder is not proof of service. A platform acknowledgement should be retained, but it does not by itself prove jurisdiction or the merits of the dispute.

Use the current official LRA Form 7.11 or the official referral channel. Do not copy an old form from an unrelated case.

6. State the desired practical result

Record what you want now, not only what felt unfair at the hearing.

Possible statutory remedies can include reinstatement, re-employment or compensation, depending on the case. None is guaranteed. Sections 193 and 194 regulate remedies, and the result depends on the legal findings and circumstances.

Ask yourself:

• Do I genuinely want to return to the same workplace?
• If so, in what role and from what date?
• Have I obtained other work?
• Is there a separate dispute about pay, benefits or documents?
• Is a negotiated outcome realistically acceptable?

This does not bind the commissioner or decide the case. It prevents a referral from being prepared around a remedy you no longer want.

Final pre-referral check

Before submitting anything, confirm that:

• the exact legal employer is named;
• the stated reason and your dispute description are both recorded;
• the dismissal and appeal dates are supported by documents;
• the earliest plausible deadline has been calculated;
• the bargaining-council question has been checked;
• the current referral form or official platform is being used;
• the employer's service details are verified;
• separate service and filing proof will be retained;
• any lateness is disclosed and addressed; and
• the remedy requested reflects your present objective.

Keep evidence lawfully. Do not enter an employer's systems without authority, copy customer information or retain confidential material merely because it may seem useful. A chronology, dismissal documents, communications you are entitled to possess and notes identifying where other evidence exists are safer starting points. For later arbitration preparation, see what evidence helps at a CCMA arbitration.

Official source notes

• Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995: sections 188, 190, 191, 192, 193 and 194 on fairness, referral dates, forum, burden and remedies.
• Code of Practice: Dismissal, Government Notice 3470 of 2025: current misconduct, sanction and procedural-fairness framework effective from 4 September 2025.
• Government guidance on referring a dispute to the CCMA: forum and referral overview.
• CCMA LRA Form 7.11 resource: current official referral-form resource.
• CCMA information on condonation: official overview for late referrals.

Legal disclaimer

This article provides general South African labour-law information and a preparation tool. It does not determine your dismissal date, forum, employee status, prospects, remedy or whether condonation is required. Those issues depend on the documents and facts of the particular dispute. If a deadline is close, the legal employer or forum is uncertain, or the referral may already be late, obtain advice urgently.

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