Employers have until next Monday to submit their 2023 annual Employment Equity (EE) reports to the Department of Employment and Labour or face possible fines as punishment.
On Monday the department, which issued the reminder to business, said entities have until midnight on 15 January to comply.
Government noted that this year’s filing will be based on the current EE Act and not the Amended Act of 2022.
The latter seeks to, among other things: ease the regulatory burden on small businesses with fewer than 50 employees; empower the minister to regulate employment targets for people in designated groups; and adjust employment equity compliance requirements for entities doing business with the state.
The amended act has already jumped through the various regulatory hoops, but remains pending until the president signs off on its effective date.
“Submission of [a company’s] annual equity report is prescribed in accordance with the Employment Equity Act of 1998,” the department noted.
“The purpose of Employment Equity Act is to promote equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination, implementing affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups and to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational levels in the workforce.”
The 2022 employment equity reporting cycle registered a total of 27 532 submissions – accounting for over seven million employees – an increase of 1.9% on the previous year.
Hot-button issue
Employment equity has been one of the many hot-button issues in recent years as businesses in various sectors – including banking, construction and retail – either came under fire for alleged non-compliance or spoke out against the amendment’s threat to straining productivity.
Grocery retailer Pick n Pay slammed government for proposing additional employment equity measures, with chair Gareth Ackerman saying the government is expecting too much from the private sector.
Dis-Chem meanwhile reported a 45% profit knock in the second half of its 2023 financial year after shoppers boycotted the pharmacy retailer. This came after the publication of an internal memo issued by then-CEO Ivan Saltzman announcing a moratorium on the hiring of white managers in order for the company to meet employment transformation targets for its leadership structures.
Among the various entities caught in the net of alleged non-compliance was big six bank Absa, with the Department of Employment and Labour ruling that it was not complying with hiring targets from designated groups. Absa – which was found wanting alongside peers Standard Bank and FNB – disputed the department’s verdict of non-compliance.
The department last year also took a closer look at retailers like TFG, Truworths and industrial firm Barloworld to assess their compliance.
Moneyweb previously reported that the department was assessing TFG and Barloworld for overrepresentation of white males and females at senior level and in professionally qualified positions, while Truworths reportedly had a problem of overrepresentation of white males at top management levels, among other issues.