The
Department of Labour (DoL) is getting stricter on the enforcement of Employment
Equity, and in our experience companies tend to take a reactive approach when
it comes to Employment Equity implementation in that they only start the
process when they receive an intention to audit from the DoL. The DoL has
picked up on this approach from companies, hence the stricter enforcement from
the DoL and the Labour court.
The
necessity for Employment Equity can be seen if read with Section 9(1) and
Section 9(2) of the Constitution. S9(1) states that no one may be discriminated
against on the basis of race, but S9(2) states that to promote equality,
measures or legislation must be developed to protect and promote previously
disadvantaged persons, hence the Employment Equity and BEE Acts were developed.
The
Employment Equity Act
According
to the Employment Equity (EE) Act, it is a Designated Employer’s duty to
promote equality in the workplace and as well advance those previously
disadvantaged by past discriminatory laws. The need for Employment Equity can
be seen when one only looks at the current socio-economic composition of South
Africa, especially when it comes to the youth unemployment rate. A big
misinterpretation of the EE act is that a lot of employers understand it as an
advancement of certain races only, but this is certainly not the case. In order
to understand the true intention of Employment Equity, one needs to understand
who was discriminated against in the past. Traditionally people weren’t only
discriminated against based on race, but also based on gender and disability.
So in essence, white females and all disabled people should be considered when
one considers Employment Equity. One should always ask the question: Was this
person discriminated against due to past policies and social norms?
How
to start the Employment Equity process and taking a proactive approach
The
biggest issue that we have found with the implementation of Employment Equity in
South African businesses is that there are no clear guidelines and the
information regarding Employment Equity is very limited and does not always
address challenges directly. The feeling that one gets is one of “comply, or
else…”.
To
enable business owners to understand where to start with EE and how to track
progress this article will outline the process below and discuss the importance
of each step.
Consultation
First,
employees need to be consulted on the process and the need for EE participation.
This can be done through toolbox talks, information pamphlets, or a training
session by an independent and neutral consultant. This will also promote buy-in
from employees and eliminate unreasonable expectations from employees. It is of
utmost importance that the company also communicates the importance of Top and
Senior Management’s participation and understanding of the process to be
followed. Employment Equity can only be achieved if the entire company
participates, and understands, the necessity for transformation.
Responsibility
Second, the Employer must assign responsibility to a Senior Manager, who must take responsibility for the entire process in the form of an Employment Equity Manager. The EE Manager must be formally appointed with an appointment letter in which the duties and responsibilities of the EE Manager are outlined and should form part of the KPIs of such the Senior Manager. The EE Manager must be directly appointed by the CEO and held accountable for the progress of Employment Equity implementation. The EE Manager must:
- be a Senior Manager that reports directly to the CEO;
- have the authority and mandate to assign recourses; and
- must be a South African citizen.
The
appointment of an EE Manager does not shift the responsibility from the CEO, and
ultimately the CEO will be held responsible by the DoL should the company be
found contravening the Employment Equity Act by the Labour court. A CEO can
therefore not take the decision of appointing an EE Manager lightly.
Representativeness
Thirdly, the employer needs to establish the over- and under representations of gender and race within the 6 occupational level categories. This needs to be done through a consultative body: the Employment Equity Committee. This committee:
- needs to be elected in a democratic manner;
- must be representative of the entire company; and
- should have a minimum of four members that represent the Employer and Employees.
This
committee should also reflect the race and gender breakdown within your company.
Should the Employer have a formal agreement with a registered trade union, the
elected shop stewards will automatically form part of this committee and will
not have to be re-elected as the election of these representatives has already
have been done in a democratic manner by the trade union.
The EE Committee needs to analyse the composition of the company’s employee profile and compare it to the latest Economically Active Population (EAP) statistics as released by StatsSA. After establishing the over- and under representations within the company, the EE Committee needs to:
- identify the reasons for the over- and under representations within the company;
- assign corrective measure/s for each reason (barrier) identified;
- assign timelines to each corrective measure; and
- identify the responsible people that need to be engaged to assist in overcoming these barriers.
In
order to assist the EE Committee in identifying these barriers, the committee
needs to analyse all company policies, procedures and practices and establish whether
any of these are in any way discriminative and what measures should be put in
place in order to achieve equality.
Goals
and Targets
Once
the barriers and measures have been identified, the committee needs to
establish goals and targets in order to overcome the over- and under
representations. The employee profile needs to be aligned as close as possible
to the Economically Active Population (EAP) statistics. In our experience,
companies tend to focus mostly on the top 4 tiers of the occupational levels
and leave out the semi-skilled employees, unskilled employees, and disabled
employees in their corrective measures. To overcome the oversight of these
employees, we have found that training in the form of Learnerships, bursaries
and apprenticeships is effective in including these employees in the process. Not
only will this include these employees in the process, but there are also
benefits for the employer in the form of Discretionary Grant funding, Tax Incentives
and ETIs.
The
work isn’t done here – it only starts
The
above 4 steps are only the starting point in implementing Employment Equity and
too often employers believe that as soon as these steps has been implemented,
the process has been completed. This is, however, only the beginning of the
implementation process and Employment Equity must be seen as a continuous
process of analysing, identifying issues and corrective measures, and tracking
the progress of goals and targets.
EE
Committee meetings
There
are no clear guidelines as to how often the EE Committee should meet. This will
all depend on the progress of your implementation, goals and targets as well as
the identified corrective measures. The DoL usually asks for 4 sets of meeting minutes
during an audit. It is advisable that companies that have a high staff turnover
or that have regular shifts in their employee profile should meet at least once
a month in order to analyse and track the appointments and dismissals.
Companies that don’t have monthly staff movements can meet quarterly (four
times a year). The committee must be provided with an accurate staff movement
report every time they meet. The EE Committee also needs to have access to all
company policies in order to review and align them with the Employment Equity Act.
The
benefits to a positive, proactive approach to EE
In order to implement Employment Equity beneficially for the employer and employees, one needs to take a positive proactive approach and not a political one. Below are some of the benefits of implementing Employment Equity as set out above:
- In our experience, most issues between employers and employees can be resolved through a proper communication channel. The EE Committee enables employees to communicate the issues they face without fear of prejudice or discrimination.
- By upskilling and promoting employees internally, before appointing outside the company, employees will have a positive attitude and will also be more loyal towards your company.
- Semi-skilled and Unskilled employees will overcome the feeling of being in a dead-end job if the company rewards those that put in the effort and show potential with Skills Development initiatives and promotions.
- Supervisors and Line Managers that have come through the ranks will have a better understanding of problem-solving and issues employees under them face as they have been in similar circumstances.
- Supervisors and Line Managers will have a better understanding of the processes and procedures regarding certain lower ranking job titles.
- Problem-solving and production for lower occupational level employees will increase, as a result of training focused on upskilling and promoting these employees.
The
Employment Equity process should not be seen as a burden, but rather a powerful
management tool for Top Management, if implemented with the right attitude. The
benefits above are only a few of many rewards that not only employees but also
the employer will reap. The financial implications of not complying with the EE
Act are far greater than most employers realise - when found guilty of a
contravention, one cannot simply pay the fine and make the problem go away. The
Labour Court will keep on issuing fines until the company eventually complies
or cannot afford the fines anymore and have to shut their doors. The CEO of a
non-compliant company will also be held liable for any false reporting or an
attempt to mislead the DoL, and this could lead to a criminal record for the responsible
CEO.
The Purpose of Employment Equity is not to retrench or get rid of over-represented groups, but to align your employee profile with Economically Active Population statistics over time and as vacancies open up. The purpose is to have a clear guiding light of what races or gender should be prioritised when a vacancy or promotion is available, provided that such an identified person is suitably qualified.
Business.co.za
SDF Projects thank you for this :)
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