Employment Equity Amendment Bill under the spotlight
13 Jan 2023
The amended Employment Equity (EE) legislation is expected to take effect in 2023.
The employment and labour department highlighted this in a statement on employment equity reports deadline.
In a statement in 2022, the department indicated that it anticipated that the Employment Equity Amendment Bill will come into effect on 1 September 2023.
Parliament gave the green light to the bill in May 2022.
The bill was tabled in parliament in July 2020.
The bill aims to amend the Employment Equity Act, 1998, so as to:
- amend a definition;
- insert certain definitions, to substitute a definition and to delete a definition;
- provide for the Minister to identify sectoral numerical targets in order to ensure the equitable representation of suitably qualified people from designated groups;
- provide criteria for the Minister to issue certificates; and
- provide for matters connected therewith.
The proposed legislation will empower the labour minister to determine sectoral numerical targets in order to ensure the equitable representation of suitably qualified people from designated groups (blacks, women and persons with disabilities) at all occupational levels in the workforce.
It also seeks to enhance the administration of the act including the implementation of section 53 that 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.
The bill also aims to remove the requirement for psychological testing and similar assessments of employees to be certified by the Health Professions Council of South Africa and to remove a provision empowering non-designated employers to notify the Director-General of the labour department that they intend to voluntarily comply with Chapter III of the act as if they were a designated employer.
The portfolio committee on employment and labour called for comment on the bill at the end of 2020.
The committee adopted the bill at the end of August 2021 with amendments.
The national assembly passed the bill and sent it to the national council of provinces for concurrence in November 2021.
The select committee on trade and industry, economic development, small business development, tourism, employment and labour adopted the bill without amendments.
The bill is still to be signed by president Ramaphosa.
In the latest statement, the department pointed out that the main objectives of the amendments are to empower the employment and labour minister to regulate sector specific EE targets and to regulate compliance criteria to issue EE Compliance Certificates in terms of Section 53 of the EE Act.
“This means that organisations especially those that do business with the State will have to be in good standing when it comes to compliance with EE.”
The department called on all designated employers to submit their annual 2022 EE reports by 15 January 2023.
See also:
- Proposed amendments to the Employment Equity Act and what they mean for your business
- Employment Equity Amendment Bill set to send ripples throughout South Africa’s business sectors
- South African Human Rights Commission identifies issues with affirmative action and employment equity provisions
- Unpacking affirmative action in the workplace
