This guide explains the questions generally. It is not advice about your own case, and it does not tell you what a commissioner will decide.

Question 1: were you dismissed?

It sounds obvious. It is the first thing the employer may dispute, and it is the one thing you have to prove rather than them. The Act defines dismissal to include an employer ending the contract with or without notice, a fixed term contract not renewed when you reasonably expected it to be, and resigning because the employer made continued employment intolerable, among others.

Where this question is live: your employer says you resigned, or abandoned the job, or that a contract simply ended. If there is a letter, a message or a witness to the dismissal, this question is short. If there is nothing in writing, write down today exactly how you were told, by whom, and who else was there.

Question 2: are you in time?

Thirty days from the date of dismissal to refer an unfair dismissal, or from the employer's final decision on an internal appeal where that is later. Late is not the end, but late means a condonation application and a commissioner deciding whether to let you in at all. Everything below assumes you have answered this one.

Question 3: did the employer have a fair reason?

Once dismissal is established, the employer has to prove the dismissal was fair. Not you. A dismissal is fair only if it is for a fair reason and in accordance with a fair procedure, and the reason has to relate to your conduct, your capacity, or the employer's operational requirements.

For misconduct, the Code gives a decision maker a list to work through: was there a rule, was it valid and reasonable, did you know it or should you have, how important is it, what harm did the breach cause, has the employer applied it consistently, and is dismissal an appropriate response. Then, separately, whether dismissal was the right sanction at all, which the Code says is generally appropriate only where continued employment has become intolerable, weighing the job, the seriousness, whether progressive discipline would have worked, whether you acknowledged it, and your own circumstances including length of service and record.

Two honest notes. First, "I did not do it" and "I did it but dismissal was too harsh" are different cases, argued differently; know which one yours is. Second, if you did do it, it was serious, and the employer ran a proper process, the reason question may go against you. A guide that pretends otherwise is not doing you a favour.

Question 4: was the process fair?

The second half of the test, and the one most people underestimate. The Code says that before deciding to dismiss for misconduct, you should usually have been told the allegations, preferably in writing, given a reasonable time to prepare and respond on both the allegation and the penalty, allowed a fellow employee or union representative, and, where reasonably possible, given a language you are comfortable in. The enquiry does not have to be formal. What it has to be is real: a genuine chance to answer before the decision was made.

A dismissal can be unfair on process alone, even where the reason was sound. What that is worth is a different matter, which is question five. The two halves are set out side by side in Substantive and procedural fairness: the two tests explained. Your rights at a disciplinary hearing goes through the process in detail.

Question 5: what is it worth?

If a dismissal is found unfair, the remedies are reinstatement, re-employment or compensation, and the Act makes reinstatement or re-employment the first choice unless you do not want it, the relationship has become intolerable, it is not reasonably practicable, or the dismissal was unfair only because of the procedure. Compensation for an ordinary unfair dismissal is capped at twelve months' remuneration, and it has to be just and equitable, which means the cap is a ceiling and not a target. Most disputes end at conciliation in a settlement rather than an award.

So the practical question is not "what is the most I could get" but "what is this likely to settle for, against months of my time". What compensation can the CCMA award? has the detail.

Putting the five together

Answer each one in a sentence, factually, as if you were telling it to a stranger:

  1. I was dismissed on this date, in this way, and here is how I can show it.
  2. My last day to refer is this date, and I am before or after it.
  3. The reason I was given was this, and it is true or not true, and here is what I say about it.
  4. Before the decision, I was or was not told the allegation, given time, allowed someone with me, and heard on the penalty.
  5. I want my job back or I do not, and here is what I earn.

If question 1 or 2 is in trouble, fix that first, and if you are in time, How to refer a dispute to the CCMA, step by step is the next page to read. If 3 and 4 both go your way, you have the strongest kind of case. If only 4 does, you have a real but narrower one. If neither does, you may not have a case worth months of your life, and it is better to know that now.

Where FairCase fits

That last paragraph is the whole reason FairCase exists. Everyone else in this market earns when you proceed. We give you a written read on an unfair dismissal case for R249 once-off: a probability score out of 100 with the calculation shown, the procedural and substantive analysis, a settlement range, the risks a commissioner would weigh, and the referral details. When the honest answer is that the case is weak, the report says so.

It is information, not advice. We are not a law firm and we do not represent you. The deadline check is free, takes a minute, and needs no account. Start there.