CCMA Checks – Proceed with Caution

Employers have historically made use of a variety of pre-employment screening tools, from job applicant reference checking with previous employers, to more sophisticated methods such as criminal record checks, financial history checks, drivers licence verification and identity verification.

More recently, screening tools have been expanded to include CCMA checks, a service whereby a search is performed to determine whether the job applicant is featured in any CCMA awards or Labour Court judgements.     Organisations offering this service maintain that the benefits of a CCMA check are that it verifies information submitted in a job application, particularly an individual’s reason for leaving their former employers.   It is also suggested that if applicants are asked during the recruitment process whether they have had previous disciplinary records or CCMA claims, the checks can be determinative of their level of honesty.

However, employers must appreciate that very few CCMA claims are finalised by a CCMA award or Labour Court judgment.        The CCMA’s Annual Report for the financial year 2008/2009 suggests that 62% of disputes were resolved at conciliation, which means no award was made in the resolution of the dispute.   Of the disputes that do proceed to arbitration, only 34% resulted in an award, a small percentage of claims actually filed with the CCMA.   The Labour Court has similar trends of resolving claims by agreed settlement, rather than by judgement of the Court.

It should also be appreciated that some industries have their own dispute resolution mechanisms which oust the jurisdiction of the CCMA.   In sectors such as construction, road freight, the chemical industry, the electrical industry and the public sector, dispute resolution powers are given to Bargaining Councils in place of the CCMA.     This may undermine the effectiveness of CCMA checks, given that a job applicant could have lodged numerous unfair dismissal claims that do not feature in a CCMA check because those claims were resolved outside the ambit of the CCMA.

CCMA and Labour Court screening could prove to be a useful tool for prospective employers seeking to verify job applicant details, but the limitations of CCMA checking must be acknowledged and employers should be cautioned about using such checks in isolation.