Preparing for CCMA arbitration: a practical guide for HR practitioners

Our team appears regularly at the CCMA and bargaining councils on behalf of employers across the public and private sectors. The matters that succeed share common features — and almost all of them are settled before the first witness is called to testify.

Before the hearing

• Identify the true issues in dispute — procedural fairness, substantive fairness, or both — and prepare to concede what cannot be defended;
• Assemble a paginated, indexed bundle and agree its status with the other party in advance;
• Consult with each witness on their own evidence and on the versions likely to be put in cross-examination;
• Diarise the pre-arbitration minute and record all agreed facts — every agreed fact shortens the hearing; and
• Confirm the relief sought and the arbitrator’s jurisdiction to grant it.

Representation

Legal representation at arbitration is not automatic in misconduct and incapacity dismissals; it may be permitted by agreement or on application. Where representation is refused, the employer’s case stands or falls on the preparation of the initiating manager — which is where structured HR and ER training proves its value.

We provide training on the rules of the CCMA and the conduct of arbitrations as part of our HR and ER training services.