Hermann Nieuwoudt
Head of Employment and Labour, South Africa
Hermann Nieuwoudt is an employment and labour lawyer based in Cape Town. He specializes in collective labour law, and individual and general employment law.
Hermann acted for a major food company in an arbitration about the alleged unlawfulness of contracts with drivers who used to be employees. The constitutional issue of the contracts being contrary to public policy was the central issue in the matter. The drivers applied to the labour Court to have the award reviewed, but were unsuccessful.
He represented another major food company in a dispute where employees were retrenched due to the fact that they allegedly participated in major acts of violence during a strike but could not be positively identified. This dispute is ongoing.
He is advising a parastatal organisation on a major restructuring.
Hermann obtained his B.Com (Law) and LLB degrees from the University of Stellenbosch. He was admitted as an attorney and a conveyancer during 1985. Before joining the practice, Hermann practiced employment and labour law in Cape Town for 15 years.
Hermann has been mentioned in Legal 500 and is listed as an expert labour and employment lawyer in Expert Guides and the Legal Experts Directory.
Hermann has served as an assessor in the Labour Appeal Court, as an acting judge in the Labour Court and for a number of years as a member of the Standing Committee on Labour Law of the Law Society of SA. He is currently a member of the National Committee of the South African Society of Labour Law.