On 12 April 2023 President Ramaphosa signed into law the Employment Equity Amendment Act (“the EEAA”) although the effective date of the EEAA is yet to be proclaimed. The EEAA amends the Employment Equity Act 4 of 2022 by introducing new measures to advance transformation in the workplace by setting equity targets for economic sectors and geographical regions, as well as requiring enterprises to develop transformation plans.
Designated employer
The definition of a “designated employer” has been amended to employers with fifty or more employees, regardless of their annual turnover. This amendment relieves the administrative burden on small employers who will not be required to comply with the obligations of a designated employer, including the development and implementation of employment equity plans and reporting to and the submission of employment equity reports to the Department of Employment and Labour.
Introduction of sectoral numerical targets
The EEAA empowers the Minister of Employment and Labour to determine sectoral numerical targets in order to ensure equitable representation of suitably qualified people from designated groups at all occupational levels in the workforce.
The EEAA has introduced serious consequences of non-compliance with such targets, including not issuing a compliance certificate enable businesses to contract with the State.
‘Designated employers’ are obligated to ensure that numerical goals, outlined in their employment equity plans, comply with the sectoral targets, once set by the Minister.
Doing business with the State
Employers who wish to contract with government are additionally required to produce compliance certificates, one of the prerequisites of obtaining such a certificate being the obtaining of the numerical targets, imposed for the economic sector or geographical region.
The EEAA also introduces a number of other prerequisites which will have to be satisfied in order for an employer to be able to obtain a compliance certificate, which includes satisfying that there has been no finding by the CCMA or a court that the employer breached a prohibition on unfair discrimination, as outlined in Chapter 2 of the EEA.
Should you require any more information, please contact Melanie Hart at melanie@bv-inc.co.za or Bryan White at bryan@bv-inc.co.za.