The gazetting of the BEE Legal Sector Codes has stirred considerable debate within the legal community. NRFSA has initiated a two-part application in the High Court, targeting the Legal Practice Council, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), and the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.
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The Employment Equity Amendment Act (EEA) is set to be officially enacted on 1 January 2025. These amendments will significantly impact how businesses across South Africa manage employment equity and comply with transformation goals.
Here’s a summary of the key changes and what they mean for your business:
Companies with fewer than 50 employees will no longer be classified as designated employers. This means they will not be required to comply with Chapter 3 of the Act, which outlines affirmative action measures.
However, businesses in this category will still need to:
If you have fewer than 50 employees, it’s essential to ensure your company maintains compliance with these provisions, even though your designation status will change.
One of the most notable changes is the introduction of sector-specific targets for designated employers. These targets will span five years and will apply across key occupational levels. Employers will need to align their employment equity plans with sectoral targets. It’s important to start assessing your workforce and setting goals accordingly. Companies can also choose to set targets for Semi-Skilled and Unskilled levels, though these are not mandatory.
While these changes will take effect in 2025, it’s important to note that all designated employers must still submit their Employment Equity reports for the 2024 reporting period in line with the current regulations. The 2024 reporting cycle will remain under the existing compliance framework, so make sure your reports are submitted in accordance with the current rules before the end of the year.
As these amendments are set to reshape the employment equity landscape, now is the time to start preparing. The changes will require companies to be more proactive in aligning their workforce with sectoral targets, ensuring compliance with anti-discrimination policies, and obtaining certification for doing business with the state.
Our team is closely monitoring these developments and will keep you informed as new regulations and guidelines are released.
Stay Tuned for More Updates
As we receive more information we will share key updates and provide actionable advice on how your business can remain compliant. Our goal is to make this transition as smooth and effective as possible for you.
Trade, Industry, and Competition Minister Parks Tau has given the green light to the Legal Sector Code under section 9(1) of the B-BBEE Act, which aims to expedite transformation within the legal sector.
“This administration is dedicated to speeding up transformation, as guided by the preamble of the South African Constitution, which underscores the need to address past injustices. This commitment is reflected in the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) statement of intent,” Tau stated.
The process has paved the way for the sector to achieve its Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) objectives of the following:
With the recent approval of the Legal Sector Code, legal professionals and firms must stay ahead of these transformative changes. Our team is ready to assist you in understanding and implementing the new regulations to ensure your practice remains compliant and competitive.
Contact us at consult@beeanalyst.co.za to schedule a consultation.
This is a friendly reminder that your annual fees for the ICT Council 2023/24 are due by December 1, 2024. Please confirm your ICT suppliers’ contributions to the ICT Council Private Contribution Model.
The Private Sector Contribution Model helps determine the financial contributions of ICT Measured Entities to support the ICT Council’s operations. These contributions are based on the annual turnover as reflected in your B-BBEE verification certificate or B-BBEE Sworn Affidavit under the 2016 Amended ICT Sector Code.
Note that these contributions cannot be claimed for B-BBEE points under the 2016 Amended ICT Sector Code.
After making your payment, email the proof to ictcouncil@ictsectorcouncil.org.za. We will send you a proof of contribution letter to the same email address.
For any questions, please contact the Acting Secretariat, Mrs Stefani Naidoo, at ictcouncil@ictsectorcouncil.org.za.
Read the notification here and see the bank confirmation letter here.
President Cyril Ramaphosa approved the Public Procurement Bill on 23 July 2024, marking a pivotal step towards streamlining and regulating public procurement practices across South Africa. The enacted legislation establishes a unified framework designed to oversee the procurement activities of all state organs.
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The QCTO changes being implemented have the potential to not only significantly impact your skills development plan reporting to the SETA, but also your BEE scorecard. It is important to consider these changes carefully and take any necessary steps to ensure that your company remains compliant and achieves its desired outcomes.
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A revised list has been published by the Construction Sector Charter Council announcing new Professional Registration bodies for the Construction Sector Code. This list is published in accordance with Statement CSC Code Series 200 and 300 of the Amended Construction Sector Code.
If your business falls within the scope of the Construction Sector Codes, additional BEE points can be earned on your Management Control and Skills Development elements on your BEE scorecard, if proof of membership is submitted.
This is an important notice for all South African businesses that operate in the Construction Sector.
Download the list here and contact BEE Analyst for more information at (012) 997 0037 or email us at consult@beeanalyst.co.za
The DOEL has been preparing to introduce amendments to the employment equity regulations, originally set to take effect on 1st September 2023. However, recent roadshows conducted by the DOEL have unveiled that the specific effective date for these changes has not yet been formally communicated.
While the DOEL has confirmed that compliance measures and reporting for the year 2023 will continue to be based on the existing legislation, the lack of an established effective date has led to some uncertainty among businesses.
Consequently, all designated employers, regardless of their employee count, will still be obligated to submit their annual EEA2 and EEA4 reports to the DOEL by the stipulated deadline of 15th January 2024.
Contact: Jaco Jacobs
Office: 012 997 0037
E-mail: consult@beeanalyst.co.za
The South African Government published an Amendment Bill, for discussion purposes in June 2023. Many organizations and HR leaders described the bill as “a draconic change in Employment Equity compliance. Much between huge debates and criticism, Solidarity negotiated and signed an agreement with government addressing some of the main principles of the proposed Amendments. Most leaders argue that this agreement will serve as a basis / template for the final Amendment Bill.
The objective is to enhance workplace diversity, promote inclusivity, and drive equitable representation across all sectors, in a stronger attempt to transform the South African Workforce.
The DOEL is planning introduce sector-specific targets that companies will have to meet, to achieve compliance. These targets will reflect not only industries, race, and gender, but also be linked to Provincial and National geographics. Example, if your Agri related business is based in Cape Town, the Agri Sector targets as part of the Western Cape targets, will be applicable. By implication, you can expect that your targets for Coloured people, if compared to the target for Coloured people in Gauteng, will be different. The primary focus remains on the Economically Active Population (EAP) statistics, excluding unemployed people.
Remember that your Employment Equity Plan, supported by your annual EEA2 submissions, must remain the driving force of transformation in your business. However, you will have to align your EE plan with these changes and sectoral targets. Your starting point is obviously to conduct a detail evaluation and comprehensive analysis of your current workforce, and perform GAP analysis against the prelim targets via the proposed Amendments. Do not wait and be caught unexpectedly, start with the groundwork now. Evaluate your designated groups and identify areas for improvement. There are no quick fix solutions, without being grossly unfair, you need time to achieve transformation.
The Amendments make a clear statement that no one’s employment may be terminated because of transformation projects, and race should not be the sole criteria for future employment and promotions. Issues and requirements such as the inherent requirements of the job, the pool of suitably qualified individuals, their qualifications, skills, experience, capacity for growth, the rate of turnover and natural attrition in the workplace. The same is valid for recruitment and promotional trends within your business. This is certainly not an easy task.
BEE Analyst can assist you, or lead the process, to navigate through the intricacies and complexities of the proposed employment equity changes. It will certainly be a daunting task with many pitfalls. Besides the risk of being non-compliant, you can potentially also face penalties and fines from DOEL. Be pro-active, start now, do not wait. Get BEE Analyst to assist you! We offer professional guidance and have specialized tools to assist you throughout your EE compliance process. We will assist you from reviewing your current EE plan, followed by a detail analysis of your current EE profile, demonstrate your current state of diversity (GAP analysis), and achieve EE compliance meeting the proposed amendments.
Contact: Jaco Jacobs
Office: 012 997 0037
E-mail: consult@beeanalyst.co.za
While the world is reeling from Covid-19, South African youths are battling an entirely different pandemic – one of joblessness. Known as the Born-Frees, Generation Z is confronting an unemployment rate of 74.7 percent, according to StatsSA, which regrettably places us as the world’s number one of unemployment. Not the top spot one pursues to have from a group of 200 countries right?.
‘’Exceptional Solutions’’. “Utmost Transparency’’. ‘Learning Focussed’’. “Instrumental to Development’’.
These are just some of the comments made by our “Interns turned Titans” during their career journeys at BEEA.
Skill them, then employ them
Job Creation is critical to facilitate economic growth, stability and improved social development in the quest to eradicate poverty, inequality and stall the runaway train of unemployment. BEEA is relentlessly in pursuit of providing solutions for their clients with Skills Development Initiatives and Internship Programmes.
As with our own interns, your time/money investment of a 12-month learnership or internship programme will be rewarded ten times over, when that intern is appointed permanently and starts producing performance results. Yes, this may sound slightly objectified, but success is a numbers game. Quality Input equals Quality Output.
‘’Develop them youngsters’’ – Generation Z
To facilitate youth development, eStudy (BEEA’s sister organisation), provides services across all learning and development functions, including Internship and Learnership Turnkey Solutions.
A unique combination of digital self-learning, mobile or virtual classroom-based learning models is available for clients to drive skills development, achieve business objectives and earn BEE points. These delivery mechanisms are selected specifically with ‘’young’’ people in mind.
Like one of the interns mentioned: “BEEA accommodated our needs as youngsters, even though the managers are old!!!” LOL-truth bomb right there)
Let’s get practical
At BEEA, we created a ‘’real-life’’ learning ground for our interns with workplace readiness training, fostering professionalism in verbal and written interaction workshops, and exposing them to hardcore technical courses from the eStudy online training library. On-the-job training is a priority for all our interns, where they receive ample opportunities to turn theory into practice.
We follow a similar approach when strategizing with our clients to ensure that formal and informal training received by their interns, cultivates professional and personal development gains, to be applied and leveraged practically within your business.
From Annoyance to Advantage
The complexities surrounding BEE regulation, scorecards, and newly adopted sector codes are often met with apathy, annoyance, and even downright resistance! To remain on point with the dynamic nature of BEE Legislation and consequentially comply with strict regulatory requirements, become less of a nightmare and a hands-down advantage with BEEA as your proverbial One-Stop BEE Consultation and Verification company.
Dedicated and professional consultants are on a mission to add value to a business, incorporating tools such as the BEE ROI calculator and the digital skills development facilitator (ESDF) products.
We have a stellar track record of helping clients cost-effectively optimise BEE scorecard levels.
BEEA: your trusted provider for A-Grade BEE solutions.