Page 12 - KZN Business Sense - Vol6 No4 eBook

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY AUDITS AND COMPLIANCE

Nikita Pillay, Head: HR So, the message is clear:
& Compliance. DRG You must comply with the
Outsourcing Employment Equity Act!

Section 20(1) of the
o you Employment Equity Act
have 50 requires a designated employer
Dor more to prepare an employment
employees in equity plan which will achieve
your company? reasonable progress towards
Or is your employment equity in that
company’s employer’s workforce. This
annual employment equity plan must
turnover include the affirmative action
higher than measures to be implemented,
Schedule the procedures used to
4 of the monitor and evaluate the
Employment Equity Act? If implementation of the plan, the
so, then you are labelled a timetable setting out the plan,
‘designated employer’. And objectives, duration, procedures
with that label comes a lot of and internal management of
legal responsibilities, the most disputes regarding the plan
important of which is to comply and the numerical goals to be STEP 8: Engage in a meaningful ■ List of EE committee members The report further requests for
fully with the Employment achieved of the appointment consultation process with the a policy which addresses and
Equity Act. If you don’t comply of underrepresented persons committee to ensure agree ■ EE committee’s constitution aims to close the vertical gap
with it completely, then you’ll face from designated groups (“black with a code of conduct, signed between the highest and lowest
serious non-compliance penalties, people, women and people with STEP 9: Verify and document by all members paid employees, and needs to be
alongside costly legal procedures disabilities”) in order to achieve statistics for reporting ■ Minutes of EE bi-annual/ aligned with the organisation’s
for you and your business. equality in the workplace. quarterly meetings
STEP 10: Submit an annual ■ Copies of all EEA2 and remuneration policy.
The employer will be subject to EEA2 and EEA4 report to EEA4 annual reports submitted
a fine, the greater of R1 500 000 Steps ensuring employment the Department of Labour – along with acknowledgement This challenges employers to
or ranging between 2% and 10% equity (EE) compliance signed off by the EE manager of submission letters. take a more in-depth approach
of the employer’s turnover. The STEP 1: Appoint an EE manager and the CEO ■ EE related complaints and to ‘’equal pay for work of
fine increases depending on the and form an EE committee records of actions taken equal value’’ to minimize the
repetition of the contravention. Important sections of remuneration gap as well as
In addition, companies that STEP 2: Educate and train staff compliance ■ Qualitative analysis of the looking at importance of job
falsely reported on employment on their role and responsibility a) Consult with employees as workforce evaluation, job grading and
equity plans while not having as committee members required by section 16 ■ Workplace profile and benchmarking.
such plans in place, will be numerical goals and targets, as
criminally prosecuted. STEP 3: Conduct a workplace b) Conduct an analysis as well as previous reports Annual Reporting
analysis with income required by section 19 The Department of Labour
Latest workplace skills plan
In August 2017, the Department differential statements c) Prepare an employment equity ■ and training report online reporting portal opens on
of Labour announced a plan as required by section 20 1 September and closes on the 15
crackdown on companies STEP 4: Conduct an internal d) Implement its employment The Department of Labour January each year.
audit on the barriers and
to ensure that they comply equity plan inspectors can also interview
with the act. At the time the affirmative action committee members and The Department of Labour
department said six JSE-listed STEP 5: Discuss and plan goals e) Submit an annual report as ask them to explain the head office will schedule
companies had been found to and target for the next five required by section 21 committee’s role. national advocacy events during
be non-compliant and were years f) Publish its report as required September every year to coincide
referred for prosecution, since by section 22 In the third quarter of 2019, with the commencement of the
then the Department of Labour STEP 6: Develop an EE plan in g) Prepare a successive the Department of Labour report date.
is prosecuting 44 companies for relation to compliance if there employment equity plan as had given another challenge
breaking Affirmative Action is a deviation from the norm required by section 23 to designated employers Employment equity
laws, five of these companies within the employment equity announcements in the press will
have paid fines, while the rest of STEP 7: Structure the EE plan h) Assign responsibility to one or sphere. The format of the old aim to raise awareness and thus
the companies are facing fines of to accommodate for the goals more senior managers as EEA4 report was repealed and ensuring high levels of compliance.
R1.5 million each. and targets to be reached required by section 24 replaced with a newer version There will also be national events
i) Inform its employees as right before the submission to coincide with the launch of
required by section 25 period opened for the 2019 new regulations, codes of good
j) Keep records as required by employment equity reports. practice, the public registry, and
reports by the Commission for
section 26. As South African Labour Employment Equity.
Law is persistently changing,
If the Department of Labour employers are becoming Employment equity will
inspects your company, you will increasingly perplexed as always be a constant in building
need to show the inspector the to what information the sustainable work environments.
following things. Department of Labour It is important that it is taken
An Employment Equity File, required, and how they will use seriously and not as a compliance
containing: this information to improve ‘’tick box exercise’’. 
transformation within South
■ Your company’s current EE Africa. The following changes
plan, signed by CEO have been gazetted in terms of Nikita Pillay
■ Copies of previous plans the EEA4 report: Nikita@drg.co.za
T: +27 (0)31 767 0625
■ Records showing how plan has W: www.drg.co.za
The EEA4 – Income differential
been communicated statement requests very detailed
■ Evidence of EE committee information from designated
nominations, acceptance and employers, such as fixed,
the process followed guaranteed, variable annualised
■ Evidence of the appointment salaries, average annual pay for
of an EE manager with a signed the top, bottom and mid 10% of
letter of responsibility an organisation’s workforce.

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