Frequently Asked Questions

Sentinel Labour Consulting is a South African labour relations consultancy. We prepare, coach and advise employers and employees across disciplinary hearings, incapacity inquiries, CCMA conciliation and arbitration, unfair labour practice disputes, employment contract drafting, and independent hearing chairperson services.

Our role is preparation, strategy and advisory. You walk into your hearing, conciliation or arbitration knowing the legal framework, the facts, and the strongest case available to you.

Both, though never on the same matter. Employers engage us for disciplinary hearing chairperson services, procedural compliance advice, contract drafting and poor work performance management. Employees engage us when facing disciplinary action, dismissal or an unfair labour practice dispute, including CCMA matters.

Each mandate is independent. Acting for an employer, we bring rigour and procedural integrity to protect the employer. Acting for an employee, we bring the same to protecting their rights. Confidentiality binds us both ways.

Yes. Advisory, preparation and coaching cover the majority of what we do, and all of it works by virtual consultation. Hearing documents, strategies, scripts and CCMA preparation are produced remotely and reach you before your engagement date.

For in-person chairperson work, contact us to discuss your location and the logistics.

No. We do not represent you in the room. Not at a disciplinary hearing, not at an appeal, not at CCMA conciliation or arbitration. Sentinel is a labour consultancy, not a law firm.

We prepare you so thoroughly that you do not need us there: your opening statement, your evidence structure, your witness questions, your cross-examination strategy, your closing argument and your mitigation. You keep control of your own matter, and it costs less than paying for representation. At CCMA conciliation, parties engage personally in any event.

A labour attorney is an attorney or advocate admitted to the roll. A labour consultant is a specialist in workplace relations and procedure who works within the labour relations framework: disciplinary process, CCMA rules, the LRA, the BCEA and Schedule 8, without being an admitted legal practitioner.

For most disciplinary hearings and CCMA matters, a skilled labour consultant gives you equivalent practical value at a fraction of the cost. Where a matter goes past the CCMA to the Labour Court or the Labour Appeal Court, you need an attorney. We will tell you when your matter reaches that point, and refund you in full where we cannot take it further.

Yes. We draft employment contracts, disciplinary codes, grievance procedures and supporting HR documentation under the LRA and the BCEA. These are built around your business and your operation, and drafted to hold up when challenged.

Well-drafted foundational documents cut your exposure. They are often the first thing examined when a dismissal is challenged at the CCMA.

Start before you issue the notice. The procedural steps you take now decide whether a dismissal survives CCMA scrutiny later. Before you issue a notice to attend a disciplinary hearing, you want a clear charge sheet, a documented record of prior warnings where applicable, and a fair investigation behind you.

Sentinel advises employers at this pre-hearing stage: reviewing the charge sheet, confirming the procedure is sound, and preparing your representative to present the case. Contact us early. Late preparation limits what we can do.

A hearing chairperson is the neutral decision-maker who presides over a disciplinary hearing, hears the evidence, controls the proceedings, and issues a finding and sanction. The chairperson has to be independent. A line manager chairing a hearing about their own subordinate creates a perception of bias that can unravel an otherwise valid process.

Our chairpersons apply Schedule 8 of the LRA, manage contested hearings, and produce reasoned written verdicts that reflect a defensible process.

An independent chairperson does not guarantee a particular outcome. It guarantees a fair, procedurally sound process. That distinction is what matters if the matter reaches the CCMA.

Poor work performance is an incapacity matter under Schedule 8 of the LRA, handled differently from misconduct. Dismissal for poor performance needs evidence that the employee knew the standard expected, had a reasonable opportunity to meet it, received support, and failed to improve anyway.

Our PWP service covers all three phases: assessment and documentation, a structured Performance Improvement Plan, and where it comes to that, an incapacity inquiry chaired independently by Sentinel. Skipping or shortcutting a phase creates real CCMA exposure.

Act immediately. Read the notice carefully. Check that the charges are clearly stated, that you have been given adequate notice, and that you understand what is being alleged. You have the right to be heard, the right to a representative, and the right to call witnesses.

We analyse the charges, find the weaknesses in the employer’s case, build your defence, prepare your evidence and your witness questions, and make sure you understand your rights under the LRA and your employer’s own disciplinary code. What you do before the hearing usually decides it.

You have 30 days from the date of dismissal, or the date you became aware of it, to refer an unfair dismissal dispute to the CCMA. That deadline is strict. Missing it means applying for condonation, which is never guaranteed. Do not delay.

Where your employer’s disciplinary code provides for an internal appeal and you follow it properly, the 30 days run from the date of the appeal outcome.

We prepare employees for both the conciliation and arbitration stages: the opening statement, the evidence, the cross-examination of the employer’s witnesses, and the closing argument.

A dismissal can be challenged on either ground, or both. Substantive unfairness means the dismissal itself was not justified, because the employer did not have a valid reason to dismiss you. Procedural unfairness means the employer failed to follow the proper process before disciplining or dismissing you, whatever they believed about the reason.

Both carry remedies at the CCMA, which can include reinstatement or compensation. The distinction matters strategically. Sometimes the substantive case is strong, sometimes the procedural case carries the matter. We analyse both angles when preparing your dispute.

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration is a statutory body that resolves labour disputes. Most dismissed employees must refer their matter to the CCMA before approaching the Labour Court.

There are two main stages. Conciliation is a facilitated settlement discussion between the parties: informal, confidential, and without legal representation in most cases. If it does not resolve, the commissioner issues a certificate of non-resolution. Arbitration is a formal hearing before a commissioner who hears evidence, applies the law, and issues a binding award. It works like a mini-trial.

We prepare clients for both. The approach and the strategy differ significantly between them.

In our assessment, yes. CCMA arbitration is a formal proceeding where evidence is led, witnesses are cross-examined, and legal submissions are made. An unprepared party facing a prepared opponent is at a structural disadvantage whatever the merits of their case.

Section 192 of the LRA splits the burden of proof. You establish that a dismissal happened. Your employer must then prove it was fair, both in reason and in procedure. That split is the most useful thing a dismissed employee has going for them, and it is worth understanding properly before you walk in.

Payment is required in advance of work commencing. For hearing chairperson services, work is deemed to have commenced once the engagement date is confirmed and reserved in our schedule, so confirm early.

We accept EFT, credit card and debit card. Card and instant EFT go through PayFast. Banking details are provided on confirmation of the engagement, and EFT clients send proof of payment by email or WhatsApp.

Turnaround runs from receipt of both full payment and a complete case file, not from the date of your first email.

We are developing a structured retainer for employer clients who need ongoing advisory support. In the meantime we set retainer arrangements up individually. Contact us to discuss what you need.

For most advisory and preparation mandates we can begin within 24 to 48 hours of receiving your documents and confirming the engagement. Hearing dates and CCMA referral deadlines move fast, so contact us as early as you can and we will confirm capacity and turnaround immediately.

Everything you share with us in connection with a matter, meaning documents, facts, personal details and strategic discussion, is treated as strictly confidential. We do not disclose client information to third parties except where it is necessary to perform the agreed service, or where the law compels it. Our Terms and Conditions contain express confidentiality obligations binding on both parties.

Four things.

Our documents are detailed, structured, and written in your voice, built around the specific facts, charges and evidence in your matter. We do not send templates.

We have worked both employer and employee mandates, which means we know how the other side thinks, what it will lead first, and where it usually gets sloppy.

Our fee structure is documented, published and applied consistently. The prices on this website are the prices you pay.

If your case is weak, we tell you, with reasons and with your realistic options. We do not take mandates we cannot add value to.