Much has been said in the press lately about Employment Equity Reports and the general non-compliance by employers with the provisions of the Employment Equity Act. The Employment Equity Act requires all employers that employ more than 50 employees, or have a turnover above a certain threshold (R2 million in the case of agriculture), referred to as designated Employers, to report on a regular basis on the implementation of their Employment Equity Plan.
All designated Employers were required to submit report by 15 January 2013, and Employers that employ more than 150 employees have to report on an annual basis, with the next report being due on 15 January 2014, whilst employers that employ less than 150 employees must report every 2 years, with the next report due on 15 January 2015.
Whilst the complicated reports may seem unnecessary to many employers, the fines for non-compliance are range from a maximum fine of R 500,000.00 for a first offence to R 900,000 for repeated non-compliance over a period of 3 years. The Department of Labour is commencing a drive to ensure compliance with the Act, and it is likely that extremely steep fines will be imposed on non-compliant Employers. For this reason compliance is strongly recommended.
If you have not yet submitted your report and need assistance in this regard, please call McCarthy & Associates Attorneys urgently in this regard.
Tel: (033) 266 6170 OR Fax: (033) 266 6175
Rob McCarthy: (083) 274 1232