You have to ask the CCMA to excuse the delay, and they can say no. This guide explains what that means, what the application asks you to show, and what to do if you are reading this on day 40. It explains the law generally and is not advice about your own case.
What condonation is
A condonation application is a request that the CCMA excuse your lateness and allow the dispute to proceed anyway. It runs alongside your referral rather than instead of it: you still complete the referral, and you attach or accompany it with the application explaining the delay.
If condonation is refused, the dispute does not proceed. That is why the application matters as much as the case behind it.
What it asks you to show
In broad terms, a condonation application is assessed on several factors together rather than any one of them. Commonly these are:
How late you are. A few days is a different application from a few months. Lateness is measured, and the longer it is, the stronger everything else has to be.
Why you were late. This is usually the part that decides it. A full explanation covering the whole period of delay carries far more weight than a general statement that you did not know about the deadline.
Whether your case has reasonable prospects. The CCMA will not put an employer through a hearing for a dispute that was going nowhere.
The effect on both sides. What the delay costs you if condonation is refused, and what it costs the employer if it is granted.
Any other relevant factor, including the importance of the case and the interest in disputes being resolved quickly.
These are weighed together. A very good explanation can carry a longer delay. A very short delay does not excuse the absence of any explanation at all.
What a real explanation looks like
The single most common failure is an explanation that covers part of the delay and goes quiet about the rest. If you were dismissed on 1 March and referred on 15 June, the application has to account for the whole period, not just the fortnight you were ill.
Explanations that tend to carry weight are specific and evidenced: you were in hospital and here are the dates, you were waiting on an internal appeal and here is the correspondence, you were given wrong information by someone you had reason to rely on and here is what they told you.
Explanations that tend not to carry weight on their own: you did not know there was a deadline, you were upset, you were busy looking for work, or you were waiting for the employer to come back to you without following up.
None of that means a weak explanation is automatically fatal. It means the rest of the application has to do more work.
What to do if you are already late
Do not wait longer. Every additional week makes the application harder and there is nothing to be gained by delaying further. Whatever the reason for the first delay, adding to it is a choice.
Write down the full timeline from the date of dismissal to today, with dates, and what you were doing about the matter at each stage. This becomes the backbone of the explanation.
Gather anything that evidences it. Medical certificates, emails, messages, an appeal outcome letter, a note of who told you what and when.
Refer the dispute and apply for condonation together. Do not refer first and plan to explain later.
Be honest about the delay. A commissioner reads a lot of these. An explanation that overstates will do more damage than a modest one that is true.
The uncomfortable question
Condonation asks whether your case has reasonable prospects, which means at some point somebody is going to assess whether the dismissal was actually unfair. That is worth doing for yourself first, before you invest months in the process.
If your case is strong, knowing that makes the application easier to write. If it is weak, knowing that early saves you the months, the travel, and the disappointment. FairCase gives you that read honestly, including when the answer is not the one you were hoping for.