The Post Graduate Diploma aims to provide an academic deepening and broadening of professional experience and application to law graduates, practising attorneys, public servants and members of the private and public safety and security sector in South Africa. It also allows non-practising attorneys and other lawyers with a B Proc, B Juris or LLB qualification to enter a career in the areas of Labour law, Constitutional Labour Law and International Labour Law.

Qualification outcomes:

a) The student should demonstrate comprehensive and systematic knowledge and critical understanding of, among others:

i. the interpretation and application of labour law;

ii. the formation of the contract of employment and the resulting rights and duties flowing from the contract, the common law and the effect of statutory provisions and the impact of the Constitution on the content of the contract of employment;

iii. the provisions of the Employment Equity Act 1998 with regard to discrimination and the implementation of affirmative action measures in the workplace;

iv. the provisions of the Labour Relations Act 1995 pertaining to the termination of the employment relationship and dispute resolution of labour law problems and issues using evidence-based solutions and theory-driven arguments.

b) The student should demonstrate that he/she has acquired the skills necessary to appropriately consult clients, to collect, analyse, synthesise, and critically evaluate information and then apply knowledge and insight to reach conclusions and be able to make recommendations to clients and as a member of a group, organise and take action steps to implement recommendations.

c) The student should demonstrate critical understanding of the rules of legal ethics as provided for by the public and private sectors, including safety and security institutions and to respect these rules in the day to day practice and to apply these rules in the day to day dealing with clients, colleagues and the judiciary; and

v. the collective labour law regulating the relationship between trade unions and employers and the law relating to industrial action;

vi. The student should demonstrate the ability to identify, analyse, evaluate and deal with/solve complex and/or real

Completion of this qualification will lead to ever increasing career opportunities nationally and internationally in NGO’s, police services, security institutions, private practice, etc. Labour Law has become an example of applied Constitutional Law and International Law as various international conventions directly impact on aspects of Labour Law. This discipline will therefore be studied with proper cognisance of Constitutional and International Law, but with the specific emphasis on the practical application of the discipline.