Tag: unfair discrimination

The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 aims to promote equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination and the implementation of affirmative action measures. The Act requires designated employers to submit annual reports on their progress in achieving employment equity goals.

The Department of Employment and Labour has officially launched the 23rd Annual Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) Report and the Public Register. This year's report, released on June 23, reveals a continued pattern of slow progress in achieving employment equity goals over the past two decades.

The Minister has gazetted new Preferential Procurement Regulations. This has a fundamental impact on how the tenders your business submits will be evaluated. In 2017, the Minister of Finance issued detailed Preferential Procurement Regulations in terms of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (Number 5 of 2000).

Unfair discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy is prohibited under South African law. Despite the protections afforded to employees who are pregnant, or who intend to become pregnant, and the many inroads South African labour legislation has made on gender equality, provisions and practical application may be inadequate.

The employment of foreign nationals must not adversely impact the rights of unskilled South Africans and excluding South Africans from employment opportunities may constitute unfair discrimination. The recent High Court ruling confirmed that businesses who seek to employ foreign nationals must show that they have tried to train South African citizens to meet their needs when applying for corporate visas for foreign nationals.

Employment Equity Act (EEA) Amendment Bill has been approved by the National Council of Provinces and it is waiting for the president’s signature. Once the president has signed this Bill into law, Chapter 2 will immediately be activated as the criteria by which companies will deemed to be compliant.

By steadfastly sticking to the policy of a mandatory minimum wage, government seems to glorify the demonstrably provable socioeconomic destructive consequences. These will be further exacerbated by the unemployment catastrophe that is unfolding before our eyes.

Despite South Africa’s employment equity legislation, the biases and discrimination that characterised the ‘old South Africa’ still exists in the hearts and minds of many people. Such unfair discrimination could include, but is not limited to, discrimination on arbitrary or subjective grounds such as race, gender, family responsibility, religion, age, disability, opinion, and trade union affiliation.

Several corporations have recently announced that they will implement mandatory vaccination at their workplaces, and possibly many more will follow. This important development will hopefully result in a few unanswered questions around mandatory vaccination finally being tested (and answered) before our courts (including, among other things, disciplining employees in this context). 

Many employers have placed their hopes of a return to the pre-COVID-19 workplace on the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. South Africa is in the process of acquiring and rolling out vaccines, however, it seems that although people are encouraged to be immunised, no one will, at this stage, be legally required to take the vaccine.