The application of the prescription act in labour disputes

It is inevitable that in an employment relationship grievances and conflicts may emerge.1 This is attested to by the large volume of 193 732 disputes that were referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) during the 2018/19 financial year.2 In the event where an employee is dismissed from work and he decides to challenge the dismissal, section 191 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) grants the employee a right to refer the matter to the CCMA for conciliation or arbitration.3 The purpose of referring the disputes to the CCMA is to support an establishment of a voluntary, free of charge and expeditious mechanisms for labour disputes settlement and allow parties to resolve their disputes through a consensus based process before taking the route of a court process.4 There are time frames that are provided for the referral of disputes to the CCMA. Section 191 determines these time frames by stating that an employee must refer their alleged unfair dismissal to the CCMA within 30 days or 90 days when a dispute relates to an unfair labour practice in accordance with section 191(1)(b)(ii) of the LRA.5 The rationale behind these time frames was outlined in the Constitutional Court (CC) judgement of Toyota SA Motors (Pty) Ltd v CCMA,6 as a means to bring about the expeditious resolution of labour disputes which by their nature, require speedy resolution.Thesis (L.L.M.) -- Faculty of Law, Mercantile Law, 202