Changes to the Employment Equity (EE) Regulations are pending promulgation and companies who are designated as per the amended definition of the EE Amendment Act 4 of 2022, need to ready themselves to adopt the changes.
Does EE apply to you?
If you are a Designated Employer, then you are required by Law to comply with EE.
How do I know if I’m a Designated Employer?
The definition of a designated employer has been amended and will be adopted as soon as the Amended EE Regulations are promulgated. These changes were set to take effect on the 1st of September 2023 but were postponed, and so the current definition – outlined below – applied to the September 2023 reporting period.
A Designated Employer (applicable to the September 2023 reporting period) is either, an employer with 50 or more people, or an employer with less than 50 people and with an annual turnover greater than or equal to the prescribed amount in Schedule 4 of the Employment Equity Act, 55 of 1998.
The amended definition reduces the burden on small business. Companies with between 1 – 49 employees are considered non-designated and will not be required to report annually to the Department of Employment and Labour. Currently, registered small companies wishing to do business with the State, will require an EE certificate of compliance, and for that reason should not deregister their profiles.
What do I need to do once the Regulations are Promulgated?
If you are a designated employer in terms of the amended definition, you are required to develop a five-year EE Plan in-line with the Sector Specific EE Numerical Targets regulated. These targets are specified per sector and apply to the top four occupational levels.
Feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start?
How we can help.
We hold your hand through the compliance requirements below:
- Create employee awareness through running EE awareness workshops.
- Assist in appointing a committee and assigning a responsible manager.
- Train the committee.
- Advise on employee consultation and ongoing engagement.
- Analyse your current workforce profile in relation to the Sector EE Numerical Targets and Economic Active Population – your EEA 12.
- In consultation, advise and assist in developing your EEA 13 Plan.
- Compile and submit your annual EEA 2 Report and EEA 4 Income Differentials.
- Review your Policies and Procedures against the EE Code of Good Practice.
- Attend your committee meetings and provide the necessary reports relating to both your Workforce Movement and progress towards your Annual Targets.
- Work alongside you on your employee succession planning and Management Control element of your B-BBEE scorecard.
The penalty for non-compliance
The Department of Labour are actively auditing companies to determine compliance. Audited companies found to be non-compliant are fined anything from R1.5 million or 2% of annual turnover, to R2.7 million or 10% of annual turnover.
When is the deadline?
Five-year plan
To be determined once the amendments have been promulgated.
Annual submission
There are two deadlines:
- For manual submissions:
- 1st October each year – submissions open on the 1st of September.
- For online submissions:
- 15th January the year thereafter
Give us a call today – 084 604 7043.
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