5 new laws for South Africa to keep an eye on in 2023 including Employment Equity

New laws refining the edges of the South African lifestyle, business and economy are anticipated this year.

Non-profit organisation, the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG), reports that there are 64 bills currently undergoing the legislative process. Many of these bills are awaiting the presidential signature.

Some pivotal bills include taking on topics such as domestic workers, sectional titles, employment, land and the national medical aid scheme.

According to the group, 20 bills were passed, two less than the year before. “Out of these bills, nine were money bills linked to the main and supplementary budgets,” said the PMG.

In South Africa, a bill must go through several steps before it becomes law. Firstly, it is introduced in Parliament and referred to a committee for review. The committee then holds public hearings and may make changes to the bill.

Subsequently, the bill is debated and amended by Parliament (comprised of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces). If most members vote in favour, it moves on to the President for signature.

Cyril Ramaphosa may choose to sign the bill into law or send it back to Parliament with recommendations for changes.

The following bills are expected to continue along the legislative process:

Employment Equity Amendment Bill

The Employment Equity Amendment Bill was introduced to the National Assembly by the employment and labour minister in July of 2020; the bill is awaiting the presidential signature.

The bill itself states that it aims to amend certain definitions in the original Employment Equity Act of 1998 to ensure that there is a more equitable representation of suitably qualified people from designated groups.

It further empowers the employment and labour minister to issue compliance certificates to certain businesses.

Legal firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH) said in October 2022 that the amendment bill would benefit small businesses in that it will change the definition of ‘designated employer’ to exclude those who employ fewer than 50 employees – irrespective of turnover annually.

Smaller businesses will no longer be required to adhere to the duties of a designated employer with regard to affirmative action, such as creating and implementing employment equity plans, reporting to and submitting employment equality reports to the Department of Employment and Labour, said CDH.

Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Bill

Cyril Ramaphosa is poised to sign the Compensation for Occupation Injuries and Diseases Amendment Bill sometime this year to bring it into law.

The bill aims to protect domestic workers by allowing domestic employees who sustain injuries while working to claim from the Compensation Fund.

Before the bill was drafted and introduced to Parliament, domestic employees were exempt from certain occupational benefits. Employers of domestic workers and employees will also be required to contribute to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

Sectional Titles Amendment Bill

This amendment bill deals specifically with complexes across South Africa which many people occupy.

When it becomes law, the bill will establish regulations for developing schemes, including common property and extensions. The amendments will primarily affect complex managers and Home Owners’ Associations (HOA) throughout the country.

The Sectional Titles Amendment Bill effectively ‘fills’ the gaps which the original Act currently has – making it more comprehensive, said legal firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.

Expropriation Bill

The National Assembly, in September of 2022, passed the Expropriation Bill to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence, taking it one step closer to being put into law.

It aims to: ” To provide for the expropriation of property for a public purpose or in the public interest, to regulate the procedure of the expropriation…including payment of compensation.”

The Expropriation Bill also allows for land expropriation with no compensation – under specific circumstances, including abandoned land, state land, or land held for speculative purposes.

Patricia de Lille, the public works and infrastructure minister, said that the government does not have any intention to use the bill arbitrarily in land grabs from private owners.

National Health Insurance Bill

The National Health Insurance Bill (NHI) seeks to “achieve universal access to quality health care services” in South Africa by establishing a national fund that will allow for the purchasing of health care services on behalf of users.

In December of last year, the Minister of Health Joe Phaala said that the health portfolio committee has been working tirelessly to pass the NHI Bill, which has now reached a stage where significant progress has been made, reported the PMG.

The government has been given the greenlight by the Gauteng High Court to continue its recruitment drive before the bill has even passed.

The bill has faced massive pushback from industry figureheads who say that it is an unaffordable and unnecessary move by the government. Private healthcare providers said that ‘throwing money at the problem’ will not fix the fundamental issues in the public healthcare system.

Costs of the project are still expected to be calculated by the National Treasury. However, outdated estimates predict between R250 and R350 billion will be needed.