Employment contracts
Contracts of employment, fixed-term and independent contractor agreements drafted to the BCEA and LRA — including the section 198B rules that turn a badly managed fixed-term contract into permanent employment.
Industrial relations & HR consulting
Get your workplace right before it lands at the CCMA.
Focus Legal is an industrial relations and human resources consultancy for South African employers. We build the contracts, policies and disciplinary processes that hold up under scrutiny — and we stand beside you when they are tested.
Established 2017
23 years in the field, since 2003
16 sectors served
Kempton Park, Gauteng
- Employment contracts drafted to the BCEA and LRA
- Disciplinary enquiries run and chaired independently
- CCMA & bargaining council representation for employers
- Section 189 restructuring and retrenchment processes
- HR audits, policies manuals, POPIA and PAIA documentation
Who we are
Sustainable industrial relations, not crisis management.
Most employers only think about industrial relations the week a dispute arrives. By then the contract is wrong, the policy was never signed for, and the paper trail does not exist. That is an expensive place to start.
Our purpose is to create a working dialogue between employer and employee, and to build an environment that improves employer–employee relations, increases sustainability in the employment market, and develops real synergy in the private sector.
We work as an outsourced IR and HR function for employers who are too small to justify a full department but too exposed to go without one. Fixed, predictable fees. Direct access to a consultant who knows your business.
Focus Legal (Pty) Ltd was established in 2017, and the people behind it have worked in South African industrial relations since 2003.
Important — what we are, and what we are not
Focus Legal is an industrial relations and human resources consultancy. We are not a firm of attorneys, we do not practise law, and we are not registered with the Legal Practice Council. Communication with us does not attract legal professional (attorney–client) privilege.
We represent employers at the CCMA and at bargaining councils, where representation by a non-legal practitioner is permitted. Where a matter requires a legal practitioner — including proceedings in the Labour Court — we prepare the file and work alongside attorneys and counsel instructed by you.
What we do
Six things that keep employers out of trouble
Take one, or hand us the whole function.
Policies & procedures
Disciplinary code, grievance procedure, leave, substance abuse, IT and social media policies — issued as a signed-for policies manual so that "I never knew" is not a defence.
Disciplinary process
Investigation, charge formulation, notices of enquiry, independent chairing and written outcomes. Built from the start to survive scrutiny at arbitration.
CCMA & bargaining councils
Conciliation and arbitration representation for employers, in the forums where representation by a non-legal practitioner is permitted under the LRA and the CCMA Rules. We prepare the bundle, the witnesses and the argument.
Restructuring & retrenchment
Section 189 and 189A consultation processes run properly: notices, genuine consultation, defensible selection criteria, severance calculations and facilitation where required.
HR compliance & audits
Full HR audit against current legislation, employment equity, UIF, COIDA and skills development obligations, plus the POPIA and PAIA documentation your business is required to hold.
When a matter needs an attorney
Reviews and referrals to the Labour Court require a legal practitioner. Where your matter reaches that point we do not appear for you — we prepare the record, the chronology and the evidence, brief the attorney of your choice (or one we can refer you to), and stay on the file so you are not paying a lawyer to learn your business from scratch.
How we work
Four steps, in this order
1
Assess
An HR audit of what you actually have: contracts, policies, files, disciplinary history and current exposure.
2
Document
Fix the paper. Correct contracts, a signed-for policies manual, and a disciplinary code your managers can follow.
3
Support
Unlimited telephone and e-mail support so managers call before they act, not after.
4
Defend
When a dispute is referred, we run the enquiry or represent you at the CCMA on a file that was built to be defended.
2017Company established
23In the field since 2003
600+Employers supported
16Sectors served
Do it yourself
Templates and guides for employers
Not every matter needs a consultant on site. Disciplinary Guide is our template and guidance library, run by Focus Legal (Pty) Ltd, for employers who want to run a process correctly themselves.
Notices of enquiry, charge sheets, warning forms, incapacity and ill-health procedures, section 189 retrenchment packs and chairperson guides — drafted to the LRA, the BCEA and the Code of Good Practice, and written so a line manager can actually follow them.
Templates are a starting point, not advice. If the facts are serious or the employee is represented, phone us before you issue anything.
Visit Disciplinary Guide- Misconduct — investigation, charge sheets, notices of enquiry, outcome forms
- Incapacity — ill health, poor performance and incompatibility procedures
- Operational requirements — section 189, 189A and 197 consultation packs
- Chairperson guides — how to run the hearing and write a defensible outcome
Who we work with
Employers across the private sector
From four employees to four hundred. The principles do not change — the bargaining council does.
Motor & automotive
Transport & logistics
Accounting & professional services
Manufacturing
Retail & wholesale
Construction
Security
Hospitality
Client feedback
What employers say
“We started using Focus Legal in March 2020 and after five years all our labour issues are still dealt with in the utmost professional, timeous and compassionate manner. All disputes between the company and staff were handled swiftly and respectfully, so that both parties separated amicably and there was no need for involvement of the CCMA or any unions.
“We have been outsourcing all our human resources tasks to Focus Legal for over five years — not only for our clients, but also for our own company's HR consulting. Cobus and his team are very knowledgeable in the field and provide great advice, resolving staff issues in a fair and reasonable manner.
“We at A & M Pump Services highly recommend Focus Legal. Our company has been using their services for over three years and we are very satisfied. Focus Legal is just a call away when needed, and is always there to see to your company's needs.
“We have found a home for our HR requirements at Focus Legal. The staff are up to date with current legislation and always ready to answer questions from the basic to the more complicated. Highly recommend Cobus and his team for your human resources needs.
Straight answers
Questions employers actually ask
Are you attorneys?
No. Focus Legal (Pty) Ltd is an industrial relations and human resources consultancy. We do not practise law, we are not registered with the Legal Practice Council, and communication with us does not attract attorney–client privilege. Where you need a lawyer, we say so and work alongside one you instruct.
Can you represent us at the CCMA?
Yes. We represent employers at conciliation and arbitration at the CCMA and at bargaining councils, in the capacity permitted by the Labour Relations Act and the rules of the forum concerned. We confirm that we may act before we take the matter on.
What happens if the matter goes to the Labour Court?
We do not appear in the Labour Court or the Labour Appeal Court — those forums require a legal practitioner. We prepare the record, the chronology and the evidence, brief the attorney of your choice, and stay on the file so you are not paying a lawyer to learn your business from scratch.
Can you chair our disciplinary enquiry?
Yes. An independent chairperson removes the argument that the employer was judge in its own cause. We run the enquiry, record the proceedings and issue a written outcome that is built to survive scrutiny at arbitration.
Do you only work in Gauteng?
Our office is in Kempton Park and most of our clients are in Gauteng, but we act for employers across South Africa. Advisory and document work is done remotely; appearances follow the CCMA office or bargaining council with jurisdiction over the workplace.
How are you engaged and what does it cost?
Either on a monthly retainer that covers advice, documents and process support, or per matter. We quote in writing after an initial discussion or HR audit, so you know the number before you commit. Ask us for a quote on WhatsApp.
Getting in touch
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WhatsApp069 119 6978
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Telephone+27 69 119 6978
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E-maillegal@focuslegal.co.za
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Office90 Van Riebeeck Road, Kempton Park Ext 4,
Kempton Park, 1619 -
Office hoursMonday – Friday, 08:00 – 17:00