Innovation Maven (Pty) Ltd v CCMA (C976/2014) [2015] ZALCCT 64 (29 October 2015) per Van Niekerk J.
The Labour Court reviewed and set aside an award after finding that the commissioner descended into the arena of the conflict between the parties and effectively ‘disabled herself from assessing with due impartiality the credibility of the witnesses and the probabilities relating to the issues’. Not only that but the commissioner’s intervention created the impression, at least in the minds of the employer and its representative at the hearing, that the commissioner had so disabled herself that she was favouring or promoting the employee’s cause and prejudging the case against the employer.