As EE deadline looms, are SA’s corporates in for a big surprise?

Marleen Potgieter, who was involved in the first drafting of the Regulations and who has the necessary expertise and experience on the implementation of EE and reporting, is able to provide consulting to ensure compliance with the changes. She comments, “It is apparent that not all companies realise their plans expire, and many companies have not reached their projected targets. This means that all of those affected companies have to draft a new plan and report on their new targets.” To compound the issue, all companies should be aware of the new EE Regulations (Regulation Gazette No: 8474) that were issued by the Government Printer on May 26, 2006. Companies will also need to report on these by October 1st. She adds, “A further problem to add to this is that, under the new regulations, the reporting format has been changed significantly, which may mean intensive updating to submit correctly.” To solve these pain areas, Potgieter suggests the following: • Dig out your plan (which should not be mistaken for the Report, which is a separate document – plans are the in-house documents, not sent to the Department of Labour, which set out the targets of companies in terms of s 20 of the EEA); • Reconvene an Employment Equity Forum, which by this time may have lost its raison d’etre, and consult with them on drafting a new Plan; • Assess progress on your old plan and decide what can be brought forward and what needs to be looked at afresh; • Get on top of the new Regulations; and • Draft a new plan with progressive targets that will pass the muster and scrutiny of the EE Directorate and their inspectors She adds, “It’s all about perseverance. Most companies were not too bad in convening Forums in the first place, and putting together an initial EE Plan, but in many companies, the initial enthusiasm has worn off and not much progress has been made on transformation. This can be for many reasons, not least of which, that most companies do not tackle the problem from a practical point of view. A practical approach, integrating the basic HR practices with the targets for EE, so that EE becomes “business as usual” is the approach to be adopted.” Contact Details Name : Marleen Potgieter Company : Equity Works Phone :083 627 2916 Email : marleenp@netactive.co.za Note to the editor: Marleen Potgieter has had her own consultancy for a period of over 6 years now, during which time, she has specialised in Employment Equity facilitation in the workplace. She has assisted over 40 companies with their employment equity plans and processes. In this time, she has also published on the topic and conducted audits in the workplace to assess compliance, both substantively and in terms of the spirit of the law. She says that she has “lived transformation in the workplace”.