Once an arbitration hearing has been finalised at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) or relevant Bargaining Council, the Commissioner will issue an arbitration award. The arbitration award will set out the Commissioners finding and the brief reasons for the finding. In most cases, the employer will be aggrieved by an unsuccessful award [...]
Arbitration awards are generally considered to be final and binding upon parties. There is no appeal process regarding arbitration awards, as is the case in criminal and civil courts. However, the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 provides an avenue for an aggrieved party to take a Commissioner’s decision at arbitration on review to the [...]
When a matter is referred to Arbitration, one of the possible awards handed out by the Commissioner is reinstatement. Generally, the award of reinstatement flows as a result of a referral related to a dismissal or end-of-contract matter. With reinstatement, the Commissioner directs the employer (the Respondent) to restore the employee (the Applicant) to their [...]
A Default Award is an award made by the Commissioner at the CCMA or Bargaining Council when the employer failed to attend the Arbitration. This means that the Commissioner will only hear the Applicant’s evidence (employee) and make an award based on what the employee tells him/her. The Default Award is a legally binding decision that [...]
After an arbitration has been completed, an arbitration award must be issued by a Commissioner within fourteen (14) days of the date of the hearing as per the Rules of the CCMA. On good cause shown, the CCMA Director may extend this period. It is also important to know what to do when a party [...]
If a dispute is not resolved through Conciliation, a party may request the CCMA to resolve the dispute through Arbitration. Arbitration is a more formal process than Conciliation as it does not promote negotiations. An arbitration is a hearing where a Commissioner gives both parties an opportunity to present their cases regarding the issue in [...]
An arbitration is, in essence, the make-or-break process of a dispute. Parties need to ensure that they come fully prepared for arbitration and that all witnesses and relevant evidence proving their case are available. The nature of a dispute will ultimately dictate precisely what needs to be prepared for an arbitration. For purposes of this [...]
In a recent article, CEO’s Carl Ranger discussed what an arbitration entails. If you missed it, I would highly recommend giving it a read. The arbitration process is utilised in order for all relevant parties to a dispute to give evidence. After which, a commissioner delivers an arbitration award. The question then, which employers often [...]
The CCMA itself describes an arbitration on its website (www.ccma.org.za) as “A hearing where a commissioner gives both parties an opportunity to present their cases regarding the issue in dispute by leading evidence, presenting documents, cross-examination of witnesses, and even conducting of inspection of premises, where that is necessary. A commissioner decides on the procedure [...]
Introduction: A 7.13 is a request for arbitration form completed in accordance with Section 136 of the Labour Relations Act (“LRA”). If a matter remains unresolved at Conciliation, the Commissioner will issue a certificate of non-resolution in accordance with Section 135(5) of the LRA to the parties. It is common practice that the referring party [...]