Process in Play to force Employment Equity Compliance
Employers are expected to meet the standards and provisions set in the Act. All amendments and regulations of Employment Equity Compliance.
Affirmative Action Measures to be taken by Designated Employers
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’.
Employment Equity and Contracting with the State
Section 53 of the Employment Equity Act, 1998 places an obligation on all employers who wish to contract with an organ of state to comply with the Act.
The purpose of the Act is to promote the constitutional right of equality; eliminate unfair discrimination in employment; ensure the implementation of employment equity to redress the effects of discrimination; achieve a diverse workforce; promote economic development and efficiency in the workforce; and to give effect to the obligations of the Republic as a member of the International Labour Organisation.
Unfair Discrimination in the Workplace
The Employment Equity Act, 1998, renders unfair any act or omission involving the ‘unfair discrimination, either directly or indirectly’ against any employee or applicant on various grounds (race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, HIV status, conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language and birth – or any arbitrary ground).
Transformation in the Workplace
The Employment Equity Amendment Act, 2022 is set to come into effect in September 2023. The amendments empower the Minister of Employment and Labour to determine sectoral (industry or service) and/ or regional numerical targets for the purpose of ensuring the equitable representation of suitably qualified people from designated groups (blacks, women and persons with disabilities) at all occupational levels in the workplace, and to issue compliance certificates accordingly