As we can remember, the Government attempted to implement an extremely discriminatory amendment to the current highly contested Employment Equity through the guidelines so signed into effect by the President on 14 April 2023, which then saw various groups and Political Parties raise concerns and challenge the new guidelines in court.
In August 2023, Government announced a “stay” on the implementation of these contested EE Guidelines, which was earmarked to go “live” on 1 September 2023.
As a result of the resilience and the public’s outcry, Government had no alternative but to cease the controversial implementation.
But what does this mean?
This means that the “status quo” remains in place, in other words the current Act and guidelines are enforced.
Reporting by Companies with either more than 50 employees and / or above the industry indicated thresholds, must ensure that reporting is done prior to 15 January 2024 for the period 01 October 2022 to 30 September 2023.
Companies that are deemed “designated employers” (from the above stipulations), must ensure that there are an Employment Equity Plan in place that outlines the redress and alignment of Affirmative Action targets, meeting of skills development targets, inclusion of disabled employees, supporting of several employee benefit initiatives such as wellness, promotions, etc.
The reporting includes the 12-month period to which the targets as set out in the plan is measured for inclusive actions.
What if my company is unionised?
It is common practice and good practice to ensure that staff are represented within the Employment Equity process in that either representatives from an Employee Forum or a Union Shopsteward be included within the process.
There are several aspects that are measured throughout a year, including EE Meetings where each level, gender and race are represented to discuss how the Business is doing on compliance and inclusion or non-discriminatory practices.
Unions and employees all have a right to be included in discussions pertaining to fair and transparent workforce planning, which in turn means that they can and should be included in the presentation of the final report prior to submission.
Although they cannot hinder or block the submission, it is good practice to discuss the targets for the next period as well as the achievements of appointments, promotions and training of the past period.
Several aspects can be raised in that the geographical representation would require a more aggressive approach to recruitment of (for example) coloureds in Gauteng for the next 12-months, which will then become part of the target setting.
What is measured with the EEA4?
The Government has addressed the imbalances between earnings and income for the past decade to which women in the same position as a man is earning less (across the world). The Equality Act has been implemented and it is to be noted when deciding on the internal payment grading or job grading of a company that there is no differentiation based on colour, gender or any discriminatory factor as outlined by the Act.
In other words, the only differentiation that is a legal argument would be the length of service, qualifications and responsibility levels, which is based on performance indicators that are measured on a fair and transparent basis.
How can we assist your business?
We are specialists within the field of Employment Equity as we will look after your set up for the Plan, meetings, Committee and Reporting structure. Your internal aspects are addressed and aligned to your Business outlook.
We support you in constructing correct reports and plans which are then implemented and timeously submitted to the Government.
“MJSC – Bridging the gap between labour & leadership one step at a time”
