The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in collaboration with business formation Business Unity South Africa (Busa) has launched a free-to-use Labour Advice mobile application (app) aimed at offering practical labour-related guidance and support to South African small businesses and other interested persons.

To give effect to the priorities in the National Development Plan 2030 (NDP), specifically the need to “increase employment through faster economic growth” and “to improve the quality of education, skills development and innovation”, it is envisioned that the Labour Advice app will go a long way towards facilitating sound labour relations and practices, supporting and capacitating startup businesses, and stimulating confidence in the fair application of labour legislation.

The Labour Advice app is an extension of the CCMA Busa Labour Advice Web Tool for Small Business, which is a priority presidential project.

“The deployment of the Labour Advice app gives effect to the CCMA’s proactive stance to support both employers and employees in their pursuit towards upholding the right to fair labour practices within South Africa. In accordance with Busa’s mandate, this initiative aims to facilitate and support the NDP objectives of decent work, economic growth, employment creation and enabling small businesses to manage workplace relations effectively in order to contribute towards labour stability as well as a productive workforce.”

The app allows businesses and other interested persons access to a repository of employment law resources, such as employment contract templates, information on CCMA processes, CCMA information sheets, infographics, guidelines on recruitment and on how to manage the employment relationship in terms of the law, procedural guidance on fair disciplinary and incapacity procedures, information on how to terminate employment contracts in a way that respects the rights of both parties, and access to important, up-to-date resources on the effective and compliant management of Covid-19 in the workplace.

The user-friendly app can be downloaded from Apple App Store and Google Play or from https://smelaboursupport.org.za.