Professor Paul Smit

Paul Smit is an associate professor in labour law and labour relations at North-West University in South Africa.

Paul studied at the former Potchefstroom University (now North-West University) where he completed a BA degree; Post Graduate Teachers Diploma; Honns BA degree and a MA degree in the period 1979 – 1989. He completed a Diploma in Labour Litigation at UNISA (University of South Africa) in 1992 and a Certificate in Labour Relations from the University of Pretoria in 1993. Paul obtained his PhD in 2010 (Labour Relations Management) from University of Pretoria, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Labour Law (Cum Laude) from the North-West University in 2019.

Paul joined the world of academia in 2010 after he has spent almost 20 years in private practice as a Labour Relations Practitioner and consultant.

He has represented numerous clients in the Statutory Labour Dispute Resolution bodies in South Africa, this included in the CCMA (Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration) as well as in the Labour Court of South Africa. He has published numerous in both national and international academic journals and presented papers at no less than 18 national and international conferences. He has also contributed 6 chapters to 4 different academic textbooks. Paul was a guest lecturer at numerous universities in countries like, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, USA and Russia. Was a visiting fellow at the Institute of Labour Law at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium in 2008 the Free University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) in 2015 and Goethe University (Frankfurt Germany) in 2013.

Paul is a member of SASLAW (South African Society of Labour Law), registered as a Master’s Practitioner in Employment relations at SABPP (South African Board of People Practice) and a member of ISLSSL (International Society for Labour and Social Security Law). His research interests include Dismissal Law, Discrimination Law, Transnational Labour Law, Impact of Globalisation on Labour Relations / Labour Law and International Labour Standards. Comparative Labour Law.