JUSTIFICATION GROUNDS FOR DISCRIMINATION: Section 6(2) of the EEA provides two grounds of justification for allegedly unfair discrimination, – namely: Affirmative action Inherent job requirements AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Affirmative action measures have to be applied by designated employers to ensure that suitably qualified people from designated groups have equal employment opportunities and are equitably represented in all occupational categories and levels in the workplaces of those employers. Designated groups Designated employers section 1 – Black people Larger enterprises, with 50 or more Woman employees People with disabilities Employers who employ fewer than 50 employees, but have an annual turnover The generic term people” is defined to specified in terms of Schedule 4 of the EEA “black include Africans, Coloureds and Indians, and the Municipalities group also includes South African citizens of Organs of state such as Airports Company of Chinese descent South Africa (ACSA), the Central Energy Fund, the Development Bank of South Africa, Eskom, the SABC, the SA Post Office Limited and Telkom SA Limited Employers that are designated as such in terms of collective agreement If an employer uses affirmative action as a defence against unfair discrimination, it should be remembered that affirmative action measures must be consistent with the EEA. INHERENT REQUIREMENTS OF THE JOB: If the job in essence requires a certain attribute(s) it will not be unfair to exclude people without that attribute. For example it is an inherent job requirement that a sales assistant in a lingerie shop is female The exclusion of males for this job will therefore not amount to unfair discrimination
JUSTIFICATION GROUNDS FOR DISCRIMINATION: Section 6(2) of the EEA – provides two grounds of justification for allegedly unfair discrimination, namely: Affirmative action Inherent job requirements AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Affirmative action measures have to be applied by designated employers to ensure that suitably qualified people from designated groups have equal employment opportunities and are equitably represented in all occupational categories and levels in the workplaces of those employers. Designated groups Designated employers – section 1 Black people Woman People with disabilities The generic term “black people” is defined to include Africans, Coloureds and Indians, and the group also includes South African citizens of Chinese descent Larger enterprises, with 50 or more employees Employers who employ fewer than 50 employees, but have an annual turnover specified in terms of Schedule 4 of the EEA Municipalities Organs of state such as Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA), the Central Energy Fund, the Development Bank of South Africa, Eskom, the SABC, the SA Post Office Limited and Telkom SA Limited Employers that are designated as such in terms of collective agreement If an employer uses affirmative action as a defence against unfair discrimination, it should be remembered that affirmative action measures must be consistent with the EEA. INHERENT REQUIREMENTS OF THE JOB: If the job in essence requires a certain attribute(s) it will not be unfair to exclude people without that attribute. For example it is an inherent job requirement that a sales assistant in a lingerie shop is female The exclusion of males for this job will therefore not amount to unfair discrimination
MRL3702-labour_law_notes.docx