The CCMA Process Step by Step: From Referral to Award
For most employers, the CCMA process is a black box that produces anxiety and invoices. It is actually a predictable sequence with known decision points — and employers who understand it settle better, prepare better and lose less. This is the process from referral to award, step by step, from the employer’s side of the table.
- ✔Referral windows: 30 days (dismissals), 90 days (unfair labour practices).
- ✔Conciliation is a settlement meeting — most matters resolve there.
- ✔Con-arb means arbitration can start the same day conciliation fails — arrive prepared for both.
- ✔Arbitration awards are binding, issued within 14 days, reviewable but not appealable.
- ✔Never ignore a CCMA notice — default awards are real and expensive.
Step one: the CCMA referral lands
The employee refers the dispute on the prescribed form, served on the employer — this is often the first you hear of it. Check two things immediately: the deadline (30 days from dismissal; 90 from an unfair labour practice — a late referral needs condonation, which is not automatic) and the dispute type (unfair dismissal, unfair labour practice, severance, BCEA claim), because it determines the route.
CCMA dates do not move because you are busy. Miss a set-down and the commissioner can proceed in your absence — and a default award for 12 months’ compensation is an entirely achievable way to lose a case you would have won.
Step two: conciliation — the settlement meeting
Conciliation is a private, without-prejudice meeting where a commissioner helps the parties settle. No witnesses, no evidence, no recording — just negotiation with a skilled neutral in the room. Most CCMA matters settle here, and settling is not losing: a realistic settlement (some months’ pay, a reference, an agreed exit) is often cheaper than winning slowly, and it ends the dispute with finality.
Prepare for conciliation as a negotiation: know your procedural exposure honestly (the fairness tests), decide your settlement ceiling in advance, and bring someone with authority to settle. A settlement agreement signed at conciliation is binding and enforceable.
Step three: arbitration — and the con-arb trap
If conciliation fails, dismissal disputes go to arbitration: a formal hearing where the commissioner hears evidence, cross-examination and argument, then issues a binding award within 14 days. The employer leads — the onus of proving fairness is yours — so your witnesses, documents and chronology must be ready. Legal representation is restricted by the CCMA rules for most dismissal arbitrations; employers commonly appear themselves or through an employer organisation.
Most individual dismissal cases are enrolled as con-arb: conciliation and arbitration scheduled for the same day, with arbitration starting immediately if settlement fails (unless a party objects properly in advance). Arrive at every first hearing prepared to arbitrate — documents, witnesses, chronology — or object to con-arb formally and in time.
Steps four and five: the award and what comes after
The award is final and binding: reinstatement, re-employment, or compensation (up to 12 months’ remuneration; 24 for automatically unfair dismissals). There is no appeal — the only challenge is a review at the Labour Court on narrow grounds (misconduct or gross unreasonableness by the commissioner, not mere disagreement with the outcome). Ignore an award and the employee can have it enforced like a court judgment.
The deeper strategy is upstream of all of this: the employers who do well at the CCMA are the ones whose discipline file (warnings, hearings) was built before the dispute. The CCMA rewards preparation twice — once at conciliation, where a strong file settles cheap, and once at arbitration, where it wins. The complete framework is in the discipline and dismissal pillar.
A note on representation strategy: because lawyers are restricted in most dismissal arbitrations, the best ‘representative’ an employer can have is preparation — a one-page chronology, the file in indexed order, witnesses briefed on what to expect, and the three points that win the case written down and memorised. Commissioners respect a well-organised layperson far more than a disorganised professional, and the CCMA’s own processes are built to be navigated without counsel.
Always confirm current requirements with the official source — rules and deadlines change.
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Frequently asked questions
What happens at CCMA conciliation?
A private, without-prejudice settlement meeting: the commissioner facilitates negotiation between the parties with no evidence or witnesses. Most CCMA disputes settle at this stage, and a signed settlement agreement is binding.
What is con-arb at the CCMA?
Conciliation and arbitration enrolled for the same day — if settlement fails, arbitration begins immediately. Either party can object to the combined process in advance; otherwise you must arrive prepared for both.
Can I appeal a CCMA award?
No — CCMA awards are final and binding. The only challenge is a Labour Court review on narrow grounds such as commissioner misconduct or a grossly unreasonable decision, not simple disagreement with the outcome.
Do I need a lawyer at the CCMA?
Usually not. The CCMA is designed for self-representation, and legal representation in dismissal arbitrations is restricted by the CCMA rules. Employers typically appear themselves, or through an employer organisation or experienced practitioner where permitted.
Last reviewed: July 2026 · How we research our guides
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