Yonela Sicam is a senior associate in the Dispute Resolution Department of our Johannesburg office, and a member of the Employment & Benefits practice.

She has advised corporate and public sector clients on matters related to various aspects of employment and administrative law, which include but are not limited to, conducting investigations, fair employment policies and practices, effective collective bargaining, review of arbitration awards and/or judgments, management and implementation of restructuring exercises, preparation in respect of disciplinary inquiries, and effective management of litigious matters.

Yonela has an LLB degree from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

Relevant Experience

• Conducting investigations and drafting reports
• Reviewing and drafting policies
• Advising on various aspects relating to trade union recognition and access to the workplace
• Drafting collective agreements to regulate the introduction of collective bargaining
• Assisting in negotiating and drafting mutual separation agreements between companies and executives
• Advising on the management of discipline and performance
• Assisting in employment litigation and adjudication
• Proving training regarding various aspects of employment law (sexual harassment, management of discipline and performance in the workplace, collective bargaining and negotiation)
• Appearing in the Labour Court
• Representation in CCMA arbitrations
• Drafting employment contracts for different levels

• South Africa: Doctrine of common purpose does not serve to sacrifice innocent employees out of sympathy for employers
• South Africa: ConCourt settles the law on various issues relating to large-scale retrenchments
• South Africa: ConCourt rules – Intolerability of a continued employment
• Constitutional Court: Retrenchments vs automatically unfair dismissals
• South African Labour Court findings discourage section 189A(13) abuse
• COVID-19: Labour Court rules that section 189A consultation via Zoom is fair
• Conciliation for unfair dismissals disputes also covers automatically unfair dismissal claims, South Africa
• Trade unions must comply with their own constitutions before enforcing organisational rights
• ConCourt confirms constitutionality of LRA retrenchment consultation process
• Competent verdicts are applicable in workplace disciplinary matters
• Settlement agreement founded on a common mistake is invalid
• Why the Constitutional Court says no to individual consultation on retrenchments