The Employment Equity Act gets amended to aid workplace transformation in SA
Recently the government made amendments to the Employment Equity Bill in order to assist South African companies to drive further change and transformation within their organisations, having far reaching positive effects on South African citizens and our economy.
Advantages of the Employment Equity Act include:
- heightened awareness of diversity
- multiculturalism
- the importance of fairness in the workplace.
It sets up a positive environment for both the employees and the employer conducive to success.
18 sectors have been consulted on the setting of Employment Equity targets, which include:
- Education
- Water supply
- Sewerage management and remediation
- Accommodation and food services
- Human health and social work
- Agriculture
- Forestry and fishing
- Wholesale and retail trade
- Repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
- Administrative and support
- Professional, scientific and technical
- Electricity
- Gas steam & air conditioning supply
- Financial and insurance activities.
Other sectors consultations will be finalised by the end of September 2022.
The Purpose of the bill and what the bill aims to achieve:
The Employment Equity Amendment Bill, 2020 (‘‘the Bill’’), seeks to amend the Employment Equity Act, 1998 (Act No. 55 of 1998) (‘‘the Act’’).
The amendments have the purpose of:
- Empowering the Minister of Labour (‘‘the Minister’’) to determine sectoral 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 workforce;
- Enhancing the administration of the Act, including the implementation of section 53 thereof, which provides for the issuing of a certificate by the Minister confirming an employer’s compliance with Chapter II, or Chapters II and III, of the Act, as the case may be, in relation to the conclusion of State contracts;
- Removing the requirement for psychological testing and similar assessments of employees to be certified by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (‘‘the Council’’); and
- Removing a provision empowering non-designated employers to notify the Director-General of the Department of Labour (‘‘the Director-General’’) that they intend to voluntarily comply with Chapter III of the Act as if they were a designated employer
These amendments plan to be in operation as of 1 September 2023.
To read more about these bill amendments, click here
Click here to view the bill
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