Join an association that provides labour law and compliance services for employers in South Africa. Services that empower, educate, support, and guide businesses of all sizes across multiple industries.

No longer do you have to navigate the sometimes turbulent waters of labour relations on your own. With extensive experience in everything from CCMA representation to union hearings, we’ve seen it all and we’ve done it all. You won’t have to face any problem on your own when you join ARMS.

Whether you are looking for help with arbitrations, dismissals, CCMA representation, sound IR/HR policies or general labour law questions, you’ve come to the right place to find labour law services for employers in the whole of South Africa. Please click on the boxes below to read more about a specific service.

Background Checks

We facilitate background checks on our members’ behalf for existing and potential future employees. Members are able to do background checks in the following categories:

  • Adverse financial history
  • Criminal
  • Directorship information
  • Employment history
  • Fraud listing
  • Identity
  • Insurance Regulation
  • License
  • Other
  • Psychometric Assessment
  • Qualifications
  • Retail
  • Sanctions
  • Skills Assessment
  • Social Media
  • Vehicle Owners (i.e. do the employees have licenses etc.)

Cost

R1000.00 per comprehensive background check which the member can request (i.e. they can ask for a criminal and identification background check)

Terms and Conditions

If the combination of background checks requested by the member is more complex or costly, ARMS will send them an invoice which they can approve.

Process

Please contact us at admin@arms.capetown and we will delegate the task to an IR Specialist to facilitate the background check and revert back to twithin 14 days with the results (subject to the consent of the applicant being given and other factors etcetera).

ARMS IR/HR Kit

IR/HR compliance can be complicated. In order to simplify your life and save time we have compiled a fairly comprehensive set of must-have, indispensable  ARMS IR/HR Documents for Employers Kit.

Having these documents at hand will take the thinking out of many processes and give you peace of mind that your documents are legally compliant and practically useful to manage your human resources.

You will also save time and reduce stress when you need commonly used documents quickly.

The ARMS IR/HR Documents for Employers Kit includes, amongst many others, contracts of employment for permanent staff and temporary employees, a disciplinary code, disciplinary and grievance procedures, grievance forms, warning forms, interview documents, record of disciplinary hearing documents, job application forms, time management documents, leave application forms, etc. In addition, we regularly update the Kit as the need arises.

Join ARMS today and start reaping the benefits of membership.

Chairing of Disciplinary and Incapacity Hearings

It is best practice to outsource the chairing of disciplinary and incapacity hearings to experts that will ensure the process is conducted fairly and promptly. Our highly experienced team of labour experts are unbiased and will ensure that decisions are made in the interests of your business and fairness.

Employers are often so emotionally charged that they cannot apply their minds rationally and fairly to a situation, often resulting in unfair dismissals which are very costly at the CCMA. Join ARMS today and get access to highly experienced team of labour experts.

Payroll Services

We offer a cost-saving payroll services to any employer interested in outsourcing this function.
We use a custom-built application and specialise in payroll services for hourly-paid employees. This service is available to any employer at a flat rate of R17 per weekly payslip (minimum R275 per pay run).
price includes:

  • Payslips (PDF format) emailed to the Employer (hard copy print option also available) All Bargaining Council and Union contributions/deductions done strictly in accordance with the agreements
    SARS and garnishee deductions
  • Keeping record of absenteeism (including notifying you when an employee exceeds available leave)
  • Savings and loans option available
  • Pay run reports (E.g. Payroll Summary, Bank Sheet, Hours worked, Leave taken, etc.)
  • Monthly reports (E.g. SARS, Bargaining Council, Union, Garnishee, Summaries, etc.)
  • Any other reports as required by the Employer
  • Reports to the Employer (E.g. Absentees, Timesheets, Clock-in late, etc.)
  • Minimal start-up fee.
  • No licensing- or annual fees
  • Complete Confidentiality

We also supply and install fingerprint time and attendance machines. Join ARMS today to streamline and simplify your payroll function.

Appeal and Grievance Hearings

While it is not compulsory to have an internal appeal process, it may be advisable to have an internal process to address appeal and grievance hearings that may arise with employees. It may well save you time and money resolving an appeal internally rather than via the CCMA.

With our experienced team, you can be assured that appeal hearings will be conducted thoroughly.
Workplace conflict and dissatisfaction often show itself in misconduct and poor work performance. Prevention is better than cure and chairing of grievance hearings by an independent mind often results in defusing workplace conflict and dissatisfaction before it escalates.

Many employers benefit from addressing grievances formally and our expert team is at hand to assist in addressing employee appeal and grievance hearings. Join today to reap the benefits of membership.

Representation at Conciliation proceedings

We have the legal right to provide representation at conciliation proceedings on behalf of our members at any CCMA or Bargaining Council in any conciliation process. With our vast experience and deep understanding of the process, we have great success in resolving matters for our members at conciliation proceedings, which are without prejudice, thereby preventing matters escalating to the much more time consuming and costly process of arbitration.

Another advantage of using our services for this process is that we are able to assist you there without you necessarily having to be present, so you can focus on your business. Join ARMS today to get access to our highly experienced team.

Representation at Arbitration Proceedings

Arbitration is a legal process with serious implications for employers and you should have representation at arbitration proceedings. You cannot appeal the outcome of an arbitration. It is essential that you understand the law of evidence when presenting a case at arbitration and that you have experience in presenting cases in arbitration; ARMS can step up here and help. A failed outcome can be extremely expensive for an employer and also embarrassing, especially as arbitration outcomes are matters of public record.

There is no doubt that you need professional assistance when conducting an arbitration before the CCMA or a Bargaining Council. We proved representation at arbitration proceedings for our members and have been doing so successfully for 20 years. Join ARMS today and tap into our experience.

Rescission Applications

There are times when an arbitration award is issued against an employer in their absence or as a result of an error common to the parties in the arbitration process. Fortunately, legal time frames exist within which this error may be addressed in order to be corrected. An arbitration award may be rescinded (canceled) under certain circumstances, and ARMS can help with rescission applications. Failure to do so within the time frames permitted may result in an arbitration award being made an order court.

When this happens, it can be very costly to employers. We are able to assist with rescission applications in order to limit your costs and potentially win the case on your behalf. Don’t hesitate to become a member to take full advantage of our decades of experience.

Review Applications

While law don’t permit appeals against an arbitration award, under certain circumstances, it may be possible to review an arbitration award. An arbitration award is reviewed by the Labour Court and this can be an extremely expensive process. ARMS is extremely well placed to help submit review applications.

We are able to assist our members with review applications in the Labour Court at a much more affordable cost. Having ARMS on your side would not only be a weight off your mind but an experienced partner help in this process. Join today to gain access to our member benefits.

Retrenchment Procedures

The tough economic circumstances brought upon us by Covid-19 is likely going to result in downsizing and restructuring of companies. The decision to retrench is not an easy one to make, it is complicated and fraught with challenges and technicalities. Let ARMS help you out with retrenchment procedures and help guide you through these challenging times.

It can be extremely expensive to companies when fair procedures are not followed and when retrenchment dismissals are executed unfairly from a substantive point of view.

More than any other form of dismissal, (misconduct or incapacity) you need expert advice and guidance to ensure compliance with S189 and S189A retrenchments. We assist our members with this process, providing assistance and guidance in these difficult times. Apply to become a member and get experienced professionals on your side.

Legal Opinion

We assist members with the drafting of legal opinion on labour related matters.

Training

We provide training to our members, their management team, supervisors, shop stewards and employees on any matter related to the Labour Relations Act, such as, chairing of hearings, preparing for arbitration, conducting arbitration proceedings, etc.

Become a member today and access all the benefits of our decades of experience.

As you can see, membership in ARMS gives you a tremendous range of services and benefits. Membership fees are kept affordable so that companies of all sizes can benefit from the association. We feel passionately about supporting SMME's who might not have ready access to labour experts. It's these businesses that keep the economy strong, and it is with pride that we can say that we serve over 300 SMME's in the association.