Jerry Kaapu

Jerry Kaapu is a Partner and Lead of the Employment Law Practice at Bowmans in Johannesburg, specialising in employment law, dispute resolution, and collective bargaining. He advises corporate and public sector clients on various aspects of employment law, often working at senior executive and board level on intractable matters likely to lead to litigation.

Jerry has extensive experience in termination and executive misconduct, suspensions, investigations, disciplinary processes, and representing clients in litigation or private arbitrations before the CCMA, Bargaining Councils, Labour Courts, and Labour Appeal Courts. He also works on collective bargaining, strike management, retrenchments, reviews of arbitration awards, urgent applications, and the drafting, updating, and revision of employment policies and contracts. He conducts training on handling discipline, retrenchments, and workplace harassment.

Jerry holds a B.Proc and an LL.B from the University of the Western Cape. He is a member of the South African Society for Labour Law (SASLAW) and has served as an Executive Committee member and Deputy President of its Gauteng Chapter. He has served as a Non-Executive Director of several companies and a Trustee of several Trusts.

He has been inducted into The Legal 500 Hall of Fame for Employment in South Africa for three consecutive years (2024–2026) and was previously ranked as a Leading Individual in the same category in 2023.