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The amendments to the Employment Equity Act will soon become effective
Earlier this month, President Jacob Zuma approved the Employment Equity Amendment Act, No. 47 of 2013. It will only become operational when the president determines a date when it will become effective. Here are six amendments that you, the employer, need to be aware of.
1. The definition of ‘designated groups’ has been amended
This is to ensure that those who benefit from affirmative action:
1. Were SA citizens before 1994,
2. Would have been entitled to SA citizenship before 1994, or
3. Are the descendants of those who would have been entitled to SA citizenship before 1994.
This amendment will mean that if you employ people who are foreign nationals or who have become citizens after April 1994, you will not receive a benefit in terms of meeting your affirmative action targets.
2. Grounds for discrimination have been extended
S6(1) of the Employment Equity Act deals with grounds for discrimination and has been amended to clarify that discrimination, on any arbitrary grounds, is not allowed.
3. Individuals performing work of equal value must be paid the same
A new section – s6(4) – has been included in the Employment Equity Act to prevent employers who have employees who do the same work paying these people differently. The act states that if you pay any of your employees, who perform work of equal value, different amounts of remuneration this will be considered unfair discrimination unless you can prove that the reason you are paying them differently is based on fair criteria such as experience, skill, etc.
4. Jurisdiction of the CCMA
At the moment, all unfair discrimination cases must be referred to the Labour Court. However, in terms of the Employment Equity Amendment Act unfair discrimination cases may be referred to the CCMA if, for example, the case involves sexual harassment.
5. Penalties in the Employment Equity Amendment Act have changed
Penalties have increased from R10 000 (in the old act) to R30 000. What is scary to note is that if you don’t comply with the Employment Equity Amendment Act your turnover could be taken into account when your fine is determined.
6. Total annual turnover threshold has been increased
This means that some employers who were previously classified as designated employers because they exceeded a certain turnover now will not have to comply with the act. So some employers that were obliged to comply because of their turnover will no longer have to do so. Employers that employ 50 or more employees will still be regarded as ‘designated employers’ irrespective of their turnover.
