📅 What counts as a "court day"?
- Rule 1 of the Labour Court Rules 2024 defines a day as any day other than Saturday, Sunday, a public holiday, or any day between 16 December and 15 January (both inclusive).
- When counting a prescribed number of days, you exclude the first day and include the last day.
- Example: If you served on a Monday, Tuesday is Day 1. The 10th day is the second Thursday. If that Thursday is a public holiday, the deadline rolls to the next court day.
1. No Notice of Intention to Oppose is filed within 10 court days of service.
2. A Notice of Intention to Oppose is filed, but the Respondent fails to deliver an Answering Affidavit within the prescribed time.
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Confirm 10 court days have expired with no Answering Affidavit
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Draft a short letter to the Registrar requesting enrolment on the unopposed motion roll (Rule 36(1))
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Attach a Certificate of Non-Opposition (template below)
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File the request on Court Online (My Case Documents → Upload → "Application for Default Judgement / Unopposed Enrolment")
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Wait for the Registrar to issue a Notice of Set Down
IN THE LABOUR COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
(HELD AT [SEAT])
Case No: [CASE NUMBER]
In the matter between:
[APPLICANT NAME] — Applicant
and
[RESPONDENT NAME] — Respondent
I, the undersigned [FULL NAMES], do hereby certify that:
1. I am the Applicant in the above matter and duly authorised to make this certificate.
2. The application was served on the Respondent on [DATE OF SERVICE].
3. More than 10 court days have elapsed since the date of service.
4. No Notice of Intention to Oppose has been received; OR a Notice of Intention to Oppose was received but no Answering Affidavit was filed within the prescribed period.
5. I therefore request that the matter be enrolled on the unopposed motion roll in terms of Rule 36(1) of the Labour Court Rules.
Signed at [PLACE] on this [DAY] day of [MONTH] [YEAR].
___________________________
Signature
[NAME IN BLOCK LETTERS]
As the Applicant, you must deliver a Replying Affidavit within 5 court days after receiving the Respondent's Answering Affidavit. It may only respond to new matters raised in the Answering Affidavit — do not repeat your founding affidavit.
Keep copies of everything the Respondent filed. You will need these to draft your reply.
Fill in the details below, then generate and download your template. This is for a Review Application under Rule 37.
Use this notice to confirm you filed and served the Replying Affidavit. Adapt as needed.
IN THE LABOUR COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
(HELD AT [SEAT])
Case No: [CASE NUMBER]
In the matter between:
[APPLICANT NAME] — Applicant
and
[RESPONDENT NAME] — Respondent
TO: The Registrar of the Labour Court, [SEAT]
AND TO: [RESPONDENT NAME / RESPONDENT'S REPRESENTATIVE]
TAKE NOTICE that the Applicant hereby files a Replying Affidavit in the above matter, in terms of Rule 35(9) / Rule 37(24) of the Labour Court Rules.
The document was filed electronically via the Court Online Portal on [DATE] and served on the Respondent by [email / hand / registered post] on the same date.
A proof of service affidavit is filed herewith / will be filed separately if required.
Signed at [PLACE] on this [DAY] day of [MONTH] [YEAR].
___________________________
Signature
[NAME IN BLOCK LETTERS]
- File on Court Online — Log in → My Cases → Select your case → My Case Documents → Upload → Document type: "Replying Affidavit" → Attach PDF → Sign digitally → Submit. Wait for "APPROVED" or "PENDING" status.
- Email the Respondent — Rule 9(1)(a)(iv) allows service by email if the other party has an email address. Send the PDF with a read-receipt request. Keep the sent-mail record.
- Proof of Service — If you served by email, draft a short affidavit confirming the correct email address, that the whole document was sent, and that a named person acknowledged receipt (Rule 9(2)(b)).
- 5-Day Deadline — Count 5 court days from the date you received the Answering Affidavit. Exclude the first day; include the last day. Skip weekends, public holidays, and 16 Dec – 15 Jan.
- Do Not Repeat — Your Replying Affidavit must only address new matters raised in the Answering Affidavit. Do not rehash your founding affidavit (Rule 37(24)).
- Wait for Set Down — Once all affidavits are filed, the Registrar will allocate a hearing date and notify the parties (Rule 35(11)).
📖 Legal Definition
"Day means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, public holiday, or any day within the period between 16 December and 15 January (both dates inclusive), and when any particular number of days is prescribed for the doing of any act, the number of days must be calculated by excluding the first day and including the last day."
Examples
| Event | Rule | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of Intention to Oppose | Rule 35(7) | 10 court days from service |
| Answering Affidavit (ordinary application) | Rule 35(7) | 10 court days from service |
| Answering Affidavit (review application) | Rule 37(22) | 10 court days after receipt of record |
| Replying Affidavit | Rule 35(9) | 5 court days after answering affidavit |
| Record for Review | Rule 37(14) | 60 court days from date advised by Registrar |