IMPLEMENTING EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT CONTENT OUTLINE Includes challenges

IMPLEMENTING EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT

CONTENT OUTLINE Includes challenges and resolutions in the following areas: ¨ Reporting; ¨ Enforcement; and ¨ Advocacy.

Reporting challenges ¨ To improve the quality of data collected from employers; ¨ To accelerate the speed in which feedback is given to employers; ¨ To support enforcement operations by providing inspectors electronic access to employer information; ¨ Data collection, especially on people with disabilities, has been very poor; and ¨ A number of Employer EE Reporting forms are either incomplete or inaccurately completed;

Response to Reporting challenges ¨ Better IT enhancements to facilitate better capturing of reporting information and identifying gaps. ¨ New EE Registry System Developed to allow for online reporting and public access to reports for research and benchmarking etc. ¨ Roll-out of EE system to provinces.

Enforcement challenges ¨ The need to interpret and enforce deeper legal requirements. ¨ Procedural compliance is more similar to inspections whereas substantive compliance is more complex and requires resources. ¨ Regulations need tightening to strengthen enforcement of the Act.

Response to Enforcement challenges ¨ Roving team of national specialists identified and capacitated to facilitate deeper interpretation and enforcement of the EEA; ¨ DG Review System is about to be implemented. This System will ensure Do. L is able at an in depth level to establish whether an employer is complying with the EEA at a substantive/ meaningful level. Implementation will be based on an IT analytical tool with dedicated Review Officers.

Response to Enforcement challenges (continue) ¨ Regulations were amended to improve on receiving accurate and complete forms, improve data collection and to strengthen the capacity to enforce the EEA.

Advocacy challenges ¨ Policy documents like Codes of Good Practice and Technical Assistance Guidelines are not in all official languages yet. ¨ Still ignorance in workplaces on some of requirements and methods of implementation. ¨ Only 0. 2% of the 2. 0% target set for people with disabilities in the Public Service has been reached.

Response to Advocacy challenges ¨ The Department is in the process of translating all Codes of Good Practice and Technical Assistance Guidelines into all official languages. ¨ Assisting DPSA to prepare and facilitate training workshops for National and Provincial Departments. ¨ NEDLAC EE Task team road shows to increase the level of reporting.

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