PUBLISHED BY ANAMARIE WESSELS
Affirmative Action Measures by
Designated Employers
Date: 01 May 2023
Affirmative action is defined in the Employment Equity Act, 1998 as ‘measures designed to ensure that suitably qualified people from designated groups have equal opportunities and are equitably represented in all occupational categories and levels on the workforce of a designated employer’.
The Employment Equity Amendment Act, 2022 defines a designated employer as any employer with more than 50 employees (and organs of state, with some exceptions). Designated groups include black people, women and people with disabilities (extended to intellectual and sensory disabilities.)
The positive measures to be taken entail: consulting with employees; conducting an analysis of employment policies-, practices-, procedures and the ‘working environment’ to identify ‘employment barriers’; drawing up an Employment Equity Plan; and reporting thereafter to the director-general of the Department of Employment and Labour on progress made in implementing the plan.
The Employment Equity Plan must be aimed at achieving ‘reasonable progress’ toward employment equity in line with the numerical targets for designated groups, to be set by the Minister of Employment and Labour.
The Employment Equity Plan can be implemented over several years (up to 5 years).
All designated employers must display their most recent progress reports on implementation in prominent places accessible to all employees. (Compliance orders or court orders that may have been issued in respect of them must also be displayed).
It is a further requirement under the Affirmative Action Clause that designated employers must report to the Nasional Minimum Wage Commission on the remuneration and benefits received by employees in each of its occupational categories and levels. The idea is that equal work deserves equal pay.
Where that is not the case, measures to reduce unreasonable disparities may include: collective bargaining; compliance with ministerial sectoral determinations made under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997; applying norms and benchmarks set by the Nasional Minimum Wage Commission; training or other measures that are appropriate in the circumstances.
An employer has the right to reward employees unequally on the basis of differences in qualification, skills and productivity.
Subscribe for updates
Do you like to be kept in the loop? Remain up to date with all things B-BBEE, Employment Equity, Skills Development, SETA and SARS related by subscribing to our Newsletter
(073) 150-9072
Whatsapp Number
anamari@whitezulu.co.za
Email Address
93 7th Avenue, Melville
Office Address
At White Zulu Human Capital Management we connect the dots between Skills Development, Employment Equity, B-BBEE, SARS and SETA
Navigation
White Zulu © 2022
All rights reserved.