Employment Equity Audit From The Department Of Labour, We’ve Got You Covered.

Please be advised that the Department of Labour are actively conducting audits on Employment Equity Compliance.

How will you know if your company will be audited?

The CEO and the Employment Equity Manager will receive an email from the Department of Labour notifying them that the company will be undergoing an audit. The notification will clearly state what documents they require from the company, with a due date. All documents should reach the Department of Labour on or before the set date.

How to Prepare for an EE Audit from the Department of Labour:

Should your company receive any communication from the Department of Labour, please inform your relevant SEESA Skills Development Facilitator immediately.

The documents requested from the Department of Labour can include, but are not limited to:

• EE Manager Appointment letter. This is a formal letter, signed by the CEO stating that they delegate all responsibilities to the Employment Equity Manager as per the EE Act Nr.55 of 1998

• EE Meeting Minutes:
• The Forum should consist of representatives for all occupational levels and designated and non-designated groups;
• The minutes must include the monitoring and evaluation of the companies’ EE plan, identified barriers and progress of the numerical goals and targets;
• All the committee members at each meeting must sign off an attendance register;
• A minimum of four meetings a year must be conducted.

• EEA 12 (Analysis):

The Analysis should contain all barriers identified, along with affirmative action measures and objectives to overcome these barriers within certain timeframes. Under and over-representation of designated groups in occupational levels should also be identified and addressed.

• EEA 13 (EE Plan):

The purpose of the Employment Equity plan is to enable the employer to achieve reasonable progress towards Employment Equity. This can be a one to five-year plan signed off by the CEO to ensure validity.

What you can expect after the Department of Labour received the requested documentation:

The Department of Labour will assess if your company is compliant with the EE Act Nr.55 of 1998, considering all documents and information.

Suppose they find the company non-compliant in certain aspects, then they will revert to the CEO and EE Manager with a re-assessment as well as recommendations in order to rectify any documents or processes.

Please be reminded that there are fines for non-compliance, with reference to Chapter three of the Employment Equity Act.

Contact your nearest SEESA to assist your business with any Skills Training related queries you might have. Alternatively, SMS the word “SEESA” to 45776 for an expert legal advisor to contact you.

About the Author:

Nicole Pieters started her career at SEESA in 2018 and is currently a Skills Development Facilitator at the SEESA Pretoria Branch. She completed the SDF Learning Program in 2018.

Resources:

• Employment Equity Act – 55 of 1998, published under Government Notice No. 32393 of 14 July 2009;

• EEA3 – Summary of the Act in terms of Section 25(1) of the Act. Templates available on Department pf Labour’s Website or with your designated SEESA, Skills Training SDF.