CCMA awards are final and binding and cannot be appealed against, with two exceptions. Section 24(7) of the Labour Relations Act (the LRA), arbitration awards about interpretation of agency shop agreements, and, to some extent, section 10(8) of the Employment Equity Act, arbitration awards about unfair discrimination on grounds of sexual harassment or any discrimination dispute where the employee earns below the threshold amount stipulated in terms of section 3 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, allow for such appeals.

CCMA awards are subject to review by the Labour Court. This means that a party aggrieved by a decision made by a commissioner in an award may apply to the Labour Court in terms of section 145 of the LRA, to have it set aside on the basis of an alleged defect with that award. 

The party who alleges a defect must file the application with the Labour Court within six weeks of the award being served. 

A defect means:

• that the commissioner committed misconduct in relation to the duties of the commissioner as arbitrator;
• that the commissioner committed a gross irregularity in the conduct of the arbitration proceedings;
• that the commissioner exceeded his powers; and
• that the award was improperly obtained.

The Constitutional Court has clarified the test for review to be based on whether the decision reached by the commissioner is one that a reasonable decision-maker could not reach. In applying this test, a reviewing Court will not interfere with an award easily, but will consider whether the commissioner considered the principal issue before him/her, whether or not he/she evaluated the facts presented at the hearing and came to a reasonable conclusion.  

It is important to note that the institution of review proceedings by an aggrieved party does not suspend the operation of an award unless that party furnishes applies to interdict the enforcement of the award and submits security to the satisfaction of the Court.