Cheadle Thompson & Haysom Inc.
Innovative legal advice since 1979
We are a specialist South African law firm advising business, the public sector, trade unions and civil society on labour, constitutional, administrative and commercial law.
1979
Founded in Johannesburg
100+
Legislative instruments drafted
17
Areas of specialisation
Level 1
B-BBEE contributor
Who we are
Founded by three Wits legal academics who believed the law could change a country.
Cheadle Thompson & Haysom was established in 1979. Our lawyers helped write South Africa's labour and constitutional architecture, and we continue to advise on the country's most complex public and private sector disputes.
What we do
Areas of specialisation
Labour & Employment Law
We are a leading labour law firm and have played a pioneering role in shaping this area of law over the last four decades.
Read moreConstitutional Law
The firm provides comprehensive legal services in respect of constitutional law, including constitutional law opinions and litigation in both private and public matters and the drafting of legislation in accordance with the Constitution.
Read moreAdministrative Law
Administrative decisions in the public sector must be lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair.
Read moreMunicipal Law
Our lawyers have advised extensively on municipal law to various metropolitan, district and local municipalities.
Read moreLegislative Drafting
Our directors have been centrally involved in the drafting of new legislation and re-drafting old legislation since 1994.
Read moreOur people
Experienced counsel
Insights
Latest legal updates
7 August 2026
Breach of a Restraint Order: When it Is Not Contempt of Court
The Labour Court, in Rotunda Proprietary Limited v Sam, considered whether a former employee who breached a restraint of trade that had been made an order of court was guilty of contempt of court in circumstances where the underlying restraint of trade had, by effluxion of time, expired.
15 July 2026
SCA considers a moot appeal for public benefit in relation to a government procurement
On 28 November 2025, the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) handed down judgment in Tekoa Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd v Alfred Nzo District Municipality \[2025\] ZASCA 180, declaring tender documents unlawful for vagueness, despite the work already having been completed.
15 July 2026
Cutting out the middle step in facilitated mass retrenchments disputes
On 29 May 2026, the Constitutional Court in NUMSA and Others v Industrial Oleo Chemical Products \[2026\] ZACC \[22\] clarified that, in a facilitated largescale retrenchment, it is not necessary to first refer a dispute to conciliation before approaching the Labour Court to challenge the substantive fairness of the dismissal. The judgment brings certainty in relation to section 189A(7) of the Labour Relations Act (“LRA”), following a line of conflicting judgments in the Labour and Labour Appeal Courts.
Get in touch
Two offices. One standard of counsel.
Johannesburg
4th Floor, 30 Jellicoe Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg, 2196
Cape Town
Ground Floor, Kildare House, The Oval, 1 Oakdale Road, Newlands, Cape Town, 7700
Enquiries
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