EEA Self-Assessment (Employment Equity)

1. Do you avoid unfair discrimination in any employment policy or practice, such as recruitment, pay, promotion, training, dismissal and benefits, on grounds such as race, gender, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, HIV status, conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language or birth?

(EEA s6)

2. Do you treat equal work and work of equal value equally in pay and benefits, and can you explain any difference by a fair reason?

The Act requires you to take steps to eliminate unfair differences in pay for equal work or work of equal value. (EEA s6(4))

3. Do you have a way to receive and deal with complaints of discrimination and harassment, and do you act on them?

(EEA s6(3), Code of Good Practice on harassment)

4. Do you display a summary of the Act where employees can see it, and give them a copy if they ask?

(EEA s25)

5. Do you hold medical, psychological or similar tests, or ask about HIV status, only where the law allows?

(EEA s7)

1. Do you know whether you are a designated employer, meaning 50 or more employees (or, where the Act provides, a lower headcount with turnover above the sector threshold)?

(EEA s1, Schedule 4)

2. If you are a designated employer, do you know that the affirmative action duties apply to you, and have you planned for them?

(EEA Chapter III)

1. Do you consult employees (through a representative union and a representative forum of employees) before you prepare the plan and the report?

(EEA s16)

2. Do you analyse your workforce, policies and practices to find barriers to equity, and the groups that are under-represented?

(EEA s19)

3. Do you have a current employment equity plan, covering the period set by the regulations (for plans started in 2025, to 31 August 2030), with numerical goals and timetables?

(EEA s20)

4. Does your plan take account of the national sectoral targets for your sector, and the permitted reasons if you cannot meet them?

The 2025 regulations set numerical targets for 18 economic sectors. An employer that does not meet its targets must be able to rely on a justifiable reason, and the employer carries the burden of proof. Newly designated employers are not assessed against the targets in their first report. (EEA Regulations 2025, sectoral targets)

5. Do you take affirmative action measures such as identifying and removing barriers, promoting diversity, making reasonable accommodation, retaining and developing designated groups, and training?

(EEA s15)

6. Do you have a senior manager responsible for employment equity, with the authority and resources to carry out the plan?

(EEA s24)

1. Do you submit your employment equity report to the Department of Employment and Labour through its online portal every year in the reporting window (reported as 1 September to 15 January)?

(EEA s21, Regulations)

2. Do you display or provide a summary of your report where employees can see it?

(EEA s22)

3. Do you apply for an employment equity compliance certificate when you tender for state contracts, and keep it current?

A compliance certificate is reported to be valid for 12 months and shows that you meet the Act's requirements or have valid reasons for not meeting targets. (EEA s53)