It is important to note that there is no Appeal from the CCMA, only review. Review means that we have to prove that the Commissioner (Arbitrator) misdirected him or herself and/or made a fatal error in the award. We have been faced with a few examples of where the Arbitrator has completely misdirected him/herself and has outlined the evidence contrary to what it actually was.

Often the Arbitrators are not legally trained and it becomes quite apparent that the misdirection is obvious to our client. Although the process is lengthy, tedious and costly it is sometimes worth taking these awards on review and asking the Court to reverse the decision.
We have cut down the costs enormously in these review proceedings and if the arbitration itself is short we can normally keep the costs to a minimum. It is however necessary to have the records (tape recording) transcribed. This could be quite costly in itself, sometimes costing up to R3,000-00 / R4,000-00. If you are unhappy with an arbitration award, please speak to us about same.