Department of Labour: Employment Equity (EE) reporting season coming to an end
The Department of Labour’s (DoL) Employment Equity (EE) Directorate wishes to remind employers that the 2013 EE reporting season for electronic submissions closes on Wednesday (January 15).
The surcease in the 2013 EE reporting season follows a series of national workshops that were held by the department between last August and September - with human resource practitioners; executives; EE managers/transformation managers; EE forum members and trade unions among others - under the theme: “Bridging the Equity Gap”.
The EE workshops were aimed at creating awareness on compliance with the EE Act; encourage designated employers on successful EE reporting particularly On-Line Reporting for the period 2013; increase the quality of large employer EE Reports; and to publicise and promote the Public Register for 2012 reporting.
To date, the Department of Labour has conducted no less than 18 EE workshops engaging with human resource practitioners and executives: assigned senior EE managers/transformation managers; EE forum members and trade unions among others. Significant in this season’s EE reporting is that the EE legislation is still undergoing amendments in Parliament.
The amended Employment Equity Bill which seeks to ensure that workers are paid the same for the work of equal value was passed in the National Assembly in October 2013 and is expected to be signed into law in the near future. The bill seeks to end unfair discrimination by employers in respect of terms and conditions of employment of employees doing the same work, similar work or work of equal value and protection against unfair discrimination.
A notable proposal in the new Employment Equity Act is that it will make it compulsory of all employers irrespective of their size to submit their annual EE Plans with the Department of Labour.
The 2013 EE reporting season started on 1 September 2013. The reporting was open for both manual and electronic submissions. Manual submissions closed on the 1st October 2013, while online submissions will close this week.
Enquiries:
Page Boikanyo
Departmental Spokesperson
082 809 3195
