Universities and Online Degrees Guide

Nelson Mandela University

Postgraduate Diploma in Labour Law Practice

The Postgraduate Diploma in Labour Law Practice in Law and Legal Studies is offered by Nelson Mandela University.

Program Length: 1 YEAR.

This qualification has been approved in terms of the new Higher Education Qualification Sub-Framework (HEQSF).

This qualification aims at increasing the professional competence of lawyers and law practitioners in labour. Besides, it will give students the possibility of undertaking understanding different areas of the law and labour, focusing on the development of special skills in these areas of practice. 

Students will be exposed to many different practices and will learn the advanced aspects of substantive labour law, and labour resolution mechanisms, the practical application of the law of evidence in labour dispute resolution processes, and the rules and practices applied in the Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court. 

This programme also allows students to grow writing skills in labour dispute resolution. 

Admission Requirements 

Applicants will only be admitted to study for the Postgraduate Diploma in Labour Practice if they: 

• have earned an LBB degree, an appropriate Bachelor’s degree, or a qualification deemed by Senate to be equivalent to an LBB degree, and have obtained a mark of at least 55% in the major modules of this qualification 
• have gotten an average of 65% in a bridging programme in labour law in a South African university, which programme can be considered of an appropriate standard by the Head of Department
• meet the requirements prescribed by the Senate
• have been approved as candidates for the Postgraduate Diploma in Labour Law Practice by the Faculty of Law Postgraduate Studies Committee on the recommendation of the Head of the Department following a selection process.

Selection Procedure 

• Only a limited number of candidates are accepted to the Postgraduate Diploma in Labour Practice. This selection process, determined each year by the Faculty, consists of the consideration of all the applications received and the compilation of the candidates on the basis of academic merits and subject to the number of available places. 
• Candidates are selected based on achieving the minimum requirement average of 55% for the LLB or equivalent degree or qualification, on academic merit and on experience in the field of Labour Law. The average of 55% for the degree of Bachelor of Laws or equivalent or 65% for the relevant bridging course does not guarantee acceptance to the course. 
• Those applicants who meet all the requirements but have not been selected will be placed on a waiting list. 
• The Head of Department of Mercantile Law shall recommend the list of candidates to the Faculty of Law Postgraduate Studies Committee for consideration and approval. The final list of candidates is to be approved before the end of September and applicants will be notified by September 30th. 

Curriculum 

Substantive Labour Law 

Conciliation Practice 

Labour Law and Social Justice

Arbitration Practice 

Unfair Dismissal and Unfair Labour Practice

Practice in the Labour Courts

Labour Dispute Resolution

Writing Skills in Labour Dispute Resolution