HNM’s reputation in Employment Law is rooted in both practical experience and historic contribution. Two of the firms founding partners played a foundational role in shaping South Africa’s post-apartheid labour law framework: Peter Harris and Charles Nupen were instrumental in establishing the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), which today forms the backbone of the country’s dispute resolution architecture.
Charles Nupen served as the first Executive Director of the CCMA and went on to found key alternative dispute resolution institutions such as IMMSA and Tokiso. From 1998 to 2008, he also directed technical cooperation projects in Africa for the International Labour Organization (ILO).
This legacy informs our approach. Having acted for employers, employees, trade unions, and government stakeholders, HNM has a holistic understanding of the employment landscape and the complex dynamics at play in workplace disputes.
We have advised corporates, public sector organisations, and governments on a wide range of labour-related issues, including the development of labour market policy and legislation across multiple Sub-Saharan African jurisdictions.
Our legal advice spans the entire employment cycle — with particular focus on the legal implications of restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, performance management, and operational requirements leading to retrenchment.
HNM has conducted over a thousand mediations in labour matters, including individual grievances and complex, multi-stakeholder disputes. We have mediated and facilitated collective bargaining agreements on wages and conditions of employment in key sectors, as well as major disputes arising during the course of employment relationships.
We have also advised both public and private sector clients on disciplinary procedures, and have prosecuted and chaired numerous disciplinary hearings. As detailed under the “Forensic Investigations”, HNM has also conducted a number of Forensic Investigations within workplaces for public and private sector clients.