Quick answer
Before referring unpaid final salary or leave pay, identify the legal source of every amount, confirm the correct employer and forum, check the current earnings threshold and any bargaining-council coverage, calculate the claim line by line, and gather proof that the money became due but was not paid. If the termination may also have been unfair, treat that as a separate dispute with its own potentially shorter deadline. Do not use a single unexplained total or assume that selecting “unfair dismissal” automatically includes a money claim.
How to use this guide
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) says remuneration must generally be paid no later than seven days after the pay period ends or the employment contract terminates. Section 40 deals separately with specified payments on termination, including remuneration for qualifying annual leave that remains due. Those provisions help identify an entitlement; they do not by themselves answer which forum has jurisdiction over your particular claim.
A seven-gate CCMA pre-referral check
Gate 1: Identify who is claiming and why
Record whether you were an employee, a worker relying on the National Minimum Wage Act, or someone whose employment status is disputed. Note your gross earnings at the relevant time and how often you were paid. Section 73A eligibility can depend on the current BCEA earnings threshold and the source of the amount owing.
The threshold changes. The Department of Employment and Labour announced an annual threshold of R269,900.90 effective 1 May 2026. Verify the figure and its legal effect again when you file rather than copying an old CCMA information sheet.
Gate 2: Name the correct respondent
Use the employer’s full legal identity, not only a store name, manager’s name or trading style. Compare the contract, payslips, tax records, termination letter, company details and bank-payment references. If a labour broker, client, group company or business transfer is involved, obtain advice before guessing which entity is liable.
Gate 3: Classify every amount
Create separate rows for final salary, accrued annual leave, notice pay, overtime, commission, bonus, deductions, severance, minimum-wage shortfall and any contractual benefit. Each head may have a different legal basis, calculation and defence. Pension or provident-fund payments, UIF benefits and tax corrections may also require different institutions or procedures.
Gate 4: Confirm the forum
Check whether a registered bargaining council covers the employer and employee. If it does, the council may be the proper first forum. For a section 73A claim at the CCMA, confirm threshold eligibility, the source of the amount, whether another proceeding already determined it, and whether a labour inspector or court process affects the route. Above-threshold or jurisdictionally complex claims need individual advice; they should not be forced into an inapplicable form.
Gate 5: Build a reproducible calculation
Show the period, rate, units and arithmetic for each item. For leave, identify the leave cycle, opening balance, days accrued, days taken, adjustments and rate used. For salary, show the final pay period, ordinary remuneration, authorised deductions and net amount received. Reconcile the calculation to payslips, leave records and bank credits.
A commissioner should not have to reverse-engineer a lump sum. If a figure is estimated because the employer controls the records, label it as an estimate and explain the missing input.
Gate 6: Prepare the referral and service pack
The CCMA’s section 73A information sheet says a claimant should state what is outstanding, the period claimed, the applicable rate and the calculation. The LRA 7.11 form includes specific section 73A options. Online referral can serve the employer automatically if a correct email address is supplied; other delivery methods ordinarily require proof that the employer was served. Retain the submitted form, attachments, confirmation and service evidence.
Gate 7: Separate any dismissal case
An unpaid-money claim and an unfair-dismissal dispute are not interchangeable. The Labour Relations Act generally requires an unfair-dismissal referral within 30 days of dismissal or the employer’s later final decision. A late referral may require condonation. A section 73A money claim has a different prescription framework, but waiting is still risky because records, witnesses and employer viability can deteriorate.
What to put in the referral bundle
- A one-page chronology from the final work period through termination and non-payment.
- The employment contract or written particulars, plus relevant policies or collective agreements.
- Recent payslips, the final payslip if issued, and bank proof showing what was actually received.
- A leave statement or your reconstructed leave ledger with source documents.
- The termination, resignation, retrenchment or fixed-term expiry record.
- A claim schedule that separates each amount, legal source, due date and calculation.
- Correspondence requesting payment and the employer’s response.
- The employer’s verified legal name, address and service details.
- Any council-membership information and the facts used to assess the earnings threshold.
Do not upload irrelevant medical, family or banking information. Redact unrelated account activity while preserving the transaction needed to prove payment or non-payment.
What outcome should the referral request?
State the amount said to be owing and how it was calculated. Also decide whether you want only payment, a corrected payslip or leave statement, interest where legally available, a certificate of service, or another distinct remedy. Do not add penalties, legal costs or compensation merely because the dispute has been frustrating; each remedy requires a legal basis.
FAQs
Can I combine unpaid final pay with an unfair-dismissal referral?
The CCMA indicates that more than one dispute type can be selected on the LRA 7.11 form, including a section 73A claim alongside another dispute. That does not merge the legal tests or deadlines. Describe and calculate the money claim separately and verify jurisdiction for both tracks.
Must I know the exact leave balance before referring?
Provide the best supportable calculation and identify records controlled by the employer. Do not invent a balance. A payslip, leave portal export, approved leave requests, roster and employment dates can help reconstruct the issue.
Does an internal payment request stop a CCMA deadline?
Do not assume so. Internal correspondence may be useful evidence, but a related dismissal deadline or formal procedural period continues unless the applicable law or an authorised forum says otherwise.
What if I earned above the current threshold?
Obtain route-specific advice. The ordinary section 73A CCMA route may not be available for every above-threshold contractual or BCEA claim, although another court, council, statutory or contractual route may exist.
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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.