While government compliance codes in South Africa can be confusing, they are quite simple to understand once you look beneath the letters and numbers.
Employment Equity (EE) reports, required to be submitted by all organisations employing 50 or more workers or who fall under designated employers as per the Employment Equity Act, are a good example.
The EEA2 report captures all information relating to the make-up of a workforce and how the entity implements equity measures as prescribed by South African law.
The EEA4 report, meanwhile, must state the progress being made by the organisation in terms of effecting EE. Detailed descriptions of plans and their successes form a big part of these submissions.
The government has noted with concern that many South African employers are not complying with EE submissions.
Innocent Makwarela, Department of Employment and Labour deputy-director for employment equity, recently said submissions were not simply a “paper exercise”.
EE report submission go a step further to ensure that there is implementation of the spirit of legislation.
According to the 24th Commission for Employment Equity (CEE), during the 2023 employment equity reporting cycle, 28 015 employers submitted their EE reports.
The CEE says the private sector is the largest employer in South Africa (72.2%), followed by government (16.8%).
Therefore, the effective implementation of employment equity in the private sector can contribute positively to the overall transformation in the labour market.
The reporting period opens on 1 October each year and the deadline for online submissions is 15 January the following year.
Submissions enable organisations to comply with the Employment Equity Act, track efforts to achieve workplace fairness, avoid the penalties that accrue though non-compliance, and identify areas where improvement is needed.
Shani Cloete, National HR & Payroll Support Manager of South African business solutions provider Times 3 Technologies, says organisations often fall foul of EE reporting requirements for one or more of the following reasons:
- Incomplete data: Leaving sections blank is viewed as a major red flag.
- Erroneous data: Providing inaccurate information about the workforce.
- Updating information: Company and staff changes are not reflected.
- Inconsistency: Parts of the report fail to align with others or with previous reports.
- Formatting issues: Not adhering to Department of Employment and Labour guidelines.
- Demographic data problems: Race, gender or disability statuses are not accurately captured.
- Unsigned documents: Required signatures from senior management are missing.
- Late submissions: Reports are submitted after the deadline.
Cloete says the reporting period can be challenging since even the slightest discrepancy will be picked up by officials.
The unfortunate reality is that human error will invariably creep in, which is why software and automation are becoming so important in business reconciliation efforts.
One of the solutions that many South African organisations have turned to for EE reporting comes from Sage the market leader for integrated accounting and payroll systems.
“Sage 300 People software includes human resources modules that cover every area of statutory workforce management. Among its standout features is that it captures all employee-related equity information such as equity group, gender, equity type of employment, citizenship, and equity history,” Cloete explains.
Furthermore, given that staff turnover will always occur to one degree or another, it simplifies the process to keep records of new employees as well as those who have left the business.
The module functionality also consolidates EE goals and targets by defining equity positions, and monitors goals against actual staff movements and appointments. It even lets you print equity reports required by the department.
By no means is reconciling EE reports a walk in the park, but this type of software is certainly lightening the load, Cloete adds. She emphasises it is still important for human eyes to give EEA2 and EEA4 reports a thorough review before submitting them.
