Deadline to submit employment equity reports draws nigh

The deadline for employers to submit their annual 2021 employment equity (EE) reports is 15 January 2022. 

The submission of annual equity plans is prescribed in accordance with the Employment Equity Act. The reporting window opened on 1 September 2021 for both manual and online reporting. The manual reporting season closed on 01 October 2021. 

Department of Employment and Labour Director for EE, Ntsoaki Mamashela advised employers to submit their reports on time and not wait until the last ‘second’. Mamashela warned that if the system is jammed with many people logging at the same time it runs the risk of crashing. 

The 2021 report submission was preceded by a national series of advocacy workshops. The EE workshops focused on presenting:

• Respective provincial EE status;
• Update on EE Amendments and EE Sector targets;
• How to access copies of the EEA2 Online by completing EEA11 form, including 2021 EE reporting; and
• EE inspections and enforcement in the labour market.

The Employment Equity Act came into being in 1998. The purpose of Employment Equity Act is to promote equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination, implementing affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups and to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational levels in the workforce.

Failure to abide with the provisions of the EE Act may result in imposition of fines. 

Mamashela also took time and commended Employment and Labour Minister T.W Nxesi for submitting South Africa’s ratification instruments to the International Labour Organization (ILO) on Convention (C190) that deals with Violence and Harassment in the workplace. Mamashela said the signing would provide an ideal framework on the interpretation and implementation of the employment equity Act pertaining to violence and harassment, including gender-based violence in world of work. 

She said in order to give more protection to workers Nedlac is on course to finalise a code of conduct and guidelines on enforcement of mechanisms to deal with Violence and Harassment in the workplace by March 2022.