How long does a CCMA case take?

A straightforward CCMA case usually takes about two to four months from referral to award. Conciliation is aimed at happening within 30 days of the referral, arbitration follows if the matter does not settle, and the commissioner's award normally arrives within about two weeks of the hearing ending.

This guide is part of our Discipline at work: warnings, hearings and dismissal, which links every guide on the topic.

That is the design. Real cases run longer when there are postponements, multiple witnesses, an objection to con-arb, or a review to the Labour Court afterwards. Here is the realistic picture, stage by stage.

Stage 1: Your own deadline

Before the CCMA's clock starts, yours is already running.

• Unfair dismissal: 30 days from the date of dismissal or, if it is later, from the employer's final decision to dismiss or to uphold the dismissal (section 191(1)(b) of the Labour Relations Act).
• Unfair labour practice: 90 days from the act or omission, or from when you became aware of it. This covers things like unfair suspension, demotion, and unfair conduct relating to promotion, training or benefits; our guide to unfair labour practices explains what qualifies.

Miss it and you must apply for condonation, which is a separate application explaining the delay. That can add weeks before the substance of your case is even looked at. Read how to refer an unfair dismissal to the CCMA and get the referral in.

Stage 2: Referral to conciliation, roughly 30 days

Once you file the referral and prove you served it on your employer, the CCMA allocates a case number and sends both sides a notice of set down. Section 135(2) of the Act requires the commissioner to try to resolve the dispute within 30 days of the referral, unless the parties agree to more time. The CCMA meets this almost always: its annual reports show the first conciliation held within 30 days in more than 99% of cases, and an average of 26 days to conciliate in 2024/25, as our page of CCMA statistics sets out.

Two things slow this down more than anything else:

• The employer's address is wrong on the referral, so the notice does not reach them and the date has to be moved.
• Service was not proved, so the CCMA sends the referral back to you.

Use the employer's registered legal name and physical address from your contract or payslip, and attach your proof of service.

Stage 3: Conciliation, usually one morning

Conciliation itself is short. It is informal, private, and often finishes in an hour or two. A commissioner speaks to both sides, together and separately, and tries to help you settle.

Many cases end here. If yours settles, you sign a settlement agreement on the day and the matter is over, which is why a settled case can be finished within about six weeks of the dismissal.

If it does not settle, the commissioner issues a certificate that the dispute remains unresolved. Keep it.

Stage 4: Requesting arbitration, up to 90 days

Arbitration does not happen automatically. You must request it, and you generally have 90 days from the date of the certificate to do so. Do not use the full 90 days. Every week you wait is a week added to your case.

Once requested, the CCMA sets an arbitration date. How long that takes depends heavily on the office. Busy offices in the major metros are slower than smaller ones. The CCMA reports its average time to arbitrate as 109 days in 2024/25, up from 76 days in 2022/23, so plan on months rather than weeks.

Con-arb. For some disputes the CCMA sets the matter down as "con-arb", meaning conciliation and arbitration on the same day, one after the other. This is much faster. Under section 191(5A), con-arb is compulsory for dismissals and unfair labour practices relating to probation. For other disputes that go to CCMA arbitration, either party may object, and where a valid objection is filed the arbitration is set down separately, which adds time.

Stage 5: The arbitration hearing, one day or several

Arbitration is a proper hearing. Evidence is led, witnesses are called and cross examined, and both sides argue.

• A simple misconduct dismissal with two or three witnesses is often finished in a day.
• A case with many witnesses, an interpreter, documents in dispute, or a legal representation application at the start can run over into a second or third day.
• Extra days are not usually consecutive. A part heard matter can wait weeks for the next available date, and this is the single biggest cause of long CCMA cases.

Postponements also happen: a party is ill, a witness is unavailable, the employer arrives unprepared. Ask for a postponement in advance rather than not arriving, because failing to appear can lead to your case being dismissed.

Stage 6: The award, about 14 days

After the hearing closes the commissioner must issue a written award with brief reasons within 14 days (section 138(7)), although the director may extend that period on good cause. In practice the CCMA reports that almost all awards go out on time. The award is binding on both sides.

If the employer does not comply, the award can be certified by the CCMA and then enforced like a court order. Certification and the enforcement steps add more weeks.

Stage 7: Review, six months or much longer

An arbitration award is not appealed in the ordinary sense. A party who is unhappy applies to the Labour Court to review the award, and the application must be brought within six weeks of the award being served.

This is where timelines stop being predictable. A Labour Court review can take a year or more from filing to judgment, depending on the court roll and on how quickly the record of the arbitration is transcribed and filed. Costs orders are a real risk at this stage, unlike at the CCMA.

A worked example: two versions of the same case

This example is illustrative. Mandla is dismissed for alleged insubordination on 10 February. He earns R13 000 a month. The dates and figures are not from a real case.

Version one. He files a correct referral with proof of service on 18 February. Conciliation is set down for 17 March. The employer offers R26 000, two months' salary, and Mandla accepts. The settlement is signed that morning and paid by 31 March. Total time from dismissal to money in the bank: about seven weeks.

Version two. Mandla uses the trading name on the referral, the notice does not reach the employer, and conciliation only happens on 14 April. It does not settle. He waits until late June to request arbitration, which is set down for 20 August. On the day the employer applies for legal representation, half the morning goes on that, and only one witness is heard. The next available date is 3 October. The award arrives on 15 October, eight months after the dismissal. If the employer then takes it on review, Mandla is looking at another year or more, and a compensation award of, say, six months' salary, R78 000, sits unpaid in the meantime.

Same dismissal, same facts. The difference is a correct form, a prompt arbitration request, and a decision about settlement made with the calendar in mind.

Realistic totals

These are ranges based on how the process is structured, not guarantees. Your CCMA office, the complexity of your case and the other side's conduct all move the numbers.

What to do this week

1. File the referral with the employer's legal name, physical address and proof of service, if you have not already. Our CCMA referral checklist lists what to include.
2. Apply for UIF now, because the case will take longer than your savings.
3. Write your timeline and list your witnesses while the details are fresh.
4. Ask your union or the CCMA on 0861 16 16 16 whether your dispute qualifies for con-arb.
5. Decide in advance what settlement you would accept at conciliation, in rand, so that you are not deciding under pressure in the room.
6. Keep your phone on and your address current with the CCMA. A missed notice of set down is a lost month.

Documents to gather

Bring the same bundle to every date: your contract, your last six payslips, the charge sheet, the hearing notes and outcome, warnings, the dismissal letter, the referral with proof of service, the notice of set down, the certificate of non resolution, and the arbitration request once filed. Three copies of everything. A commissioner who has to postpone because documents are missing does not usually postpone for a week. The next date can be a month or more away.

Your rights and your employer's rights on timing

You have the right to have conciliation scheduled promptly after a proper referral, to request arbitration within 90 days of the certificate, to object to an unjustified postponement and have your objection recorded, to a written award within a reasonable time after the hearing, and to have the award certified and enforced if the employer ignores it.

Your employer has the right to the same notice periods you get, to ask for a postponement for a good reason, to object to con-arb where the rules allow it, to apply for legal representation at the start of a misconduct or incapacity arbitration, and to take an award on review within six weeks. It does not have the right to stall indefinitely, and a commissioner can refuse repeated postponements and can make a costs order for a wasted day.

Common mistakes and what they cost

• Wrong employer name or address. Adds four to eight weeks before anything happens.
• Requesting arbitration on day 89. Adds up to three months for no benefit.
• Not attending a date. The case can be dismissed. Reinstating it means a new application and more weeks.
• Refusing a reasonable settlement because the cap is 12 months' remuneration. The cap is a ceiling, not a forecast, and a year of waiting has its own cost.
• Arriving without witnesses. The matter is part heard, and the next date can be a month or more away.

How to keep your case moving

1. Refer immediately, with the correct employer name and proof of service.
2. Request arbitration as soon as you get the certificate, not on day 89.
3. Bring your documents and your witnesses to every date.
4. Answer the CCMA's calls and keep your contact details current.
5. Be realistic about settlement. A reasonable settlement at conciliation is often worth more than a bigger award a year later.

If you cannot afford an attorney

Referring a dispute to the CCMA is free at every stage. Phone 0861 16 16 16, or see how much the CCMA costs for the costs that can still arise. Bargaining councils are free where they cover your sector, a union represents its members at no extra charge, and the Department of Employment and Labour deals with unpaid BCEA money. Legal Aid South Africa is on 0800 110 110 and applies a means test. Legal representation at arbitration for misconduct and incapacity dismissals is not automatic and the commissioner decides whether to allow it, so the timetable above is one most people manage on their own. The stage where advice matters most is a Labour Court review, where the delays and the costs risk are both real.