Following an Employment Equity (EE) Roadshow in Mpumalanga, the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) has clarified that, because the amendments to the EE Act are not yet in effect, enterprises must use current legislation and treat the incoming reporting season as if it is business as usual.
DEL EE senior administrator Ricardo Oosthuizen says, once the reporting season kicks in, everything starts from zero in terms of target setting, therefore, the second year of reporting following the proclamation of amendments to EE regulation will be critical as it will mark the period in which the system will inform companies if they have met their own set targets or not.
He refers to the EE Amendment Act of 2022 that has been signed into law – but is not yet in operation – to promote diversity and equality in the workplace.
The amendments, which amended the EE Act of 1998, seek to advance transformation of South Africa’s workforce by setting equity targets for economic sectors and geographical regions, and requiring enterprises to develop transformation plans.
According to Oosthuizen, employers will now be held accountable for submitting their own set targets.
The DEL urges employers to use the current EE Act in the meantime once the reporting cycle kicks in, as the amended legislation awaits a proclamation date.
The changes will be in operation once the President signs a proclamation, it adds.
The proclamation of the effective date of the EE Amendment Act will mean that the amended EE Regulations and sector EE targets will be subjected to implementation during the EE reporting cycle.
Meanwhile, the DEL has decided to upgrade the EE reporting system to allow for additional new information to be uploaded continuously, ahead of enterprises needing to submit their own set targets.