THE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT ACT/SDA

1. PURPOSE
 Develops the skills of people in South Africa in order to improve
productivity.
 Invest in education and training of workers.

2. IMPACT OF THE SDA

POSITIVES
 Trains employees to improve productivity in the workplace.
 Business could become globally more competitive.

NEGATIVES

 Increases costs as the process requires a large amount of paper work.

 The time and money spent on improving employee skills is wasted if
they leave the business.
3. DISCRIMINATORY ACTIONS
 Preventing employees from signing for a learnership due to their age
or position in the workplace.
 Unfair development of skills and training to certain employees.
4. PENALTIES
 Businesses that do not pay Skills Development Levy may not offer
learnerships/claim grants from SDA.
 A labour inspector could order the business to stop operating should
the business be found guilty of illegal practices.
5. WAYS TO COMPLY
 Employers who collect PAYE should register with SETAs.(sector
education and training authority)
 One percent of an employer’s payroll has to be paid over to SETA.
6. ROLE/FUNCTION OF SETAs
 Report to the director general.
 Promote and establishes learnerships.
 Collect levies and pays out grants as required.
 Provide training material/ programmes for skills development
facilitator.
7. FUNDING OF SETAs.
 Donations and grants from the public.
 Surplus funds from government institutions.
8. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NATIONAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY AND
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.

NATIONAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT HUMAN RESOURCES

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
 Encourages good quality  Addresses skills shortages in
training in the workplace to South African workforce.
ensure on-going development
of skills
 Indicates how SETAs should  Develops shot term and long
use the money allocated from term workforce skills.
the Skills Development Levy.
LABOUR RELATIONS ACT/LRA

1. PURPOSE
 Promotes collective bargaining in the workplace.
 Promotes simple procedures for the registration of trade unions and
employer organisations.
2. IMPACT OF LRA
POSITIVES
 Protects the rights of businesses in labour relations issues.
 Labour disputes are settled quicker and are less expensive.

NEGATIVES

 Productivity may decrease if employees are allowed to participate in

the activities of trade unions during work time.
 Costs of labour increases because of legal strike.
3. DISCRIMINATORY ACTIONS
 Promoting the interest of one trade union over others in the
workplace.
 Allowing only particular gender/age groups to be part of the
workforce forum.
4. PENALTIES

 Business will be fined if they fail to comply with the agreements

reached during the dispute resolution process,
 Business that fail to comply with this act may risk financial costs e.g.
legal/CCMA fees and fines.

5. WAYS TO COMPLY
  Businesses must allow employees to form trade unions/ participate
in union activities/ legal strike.
 Employees should not be unfairly/illegally dismissed.
6. THE RIGHTS OF EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES ACCORDING TO LRA

RIGHTS OF EMPLOYERS
 Dismiss employees who are engaged in an unprotected
strike/misconduct such as intimidation/violence during a strike
action.
 Right not to pay an employee who has taken part in a protected
strike for services/work they did not do during the strike.

RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES

 Employees may join trade unions of their choice.

 Embark on legal strikes as a remedy for grievance.
EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT

 PURPOSE
 This act states that employees who do the same work (work of equal
value) must be paid equal (equal pay).
 Promotes equal opportunity and fair treatment in the workplace.
 IMPACT
POSITIVES
 Promotes equal opportunity and fair treatment in the workplace.
 Encourages diversity in business by employing people from various
racial backgrounds.

NEGATIVES

 Increased administration burden, as businesses must compile/submit

employment equity reports every two years.
 Fines/penalties for non-compliant business may be expensive for the
business.
 PENALTIES.
 Business may be taken to the Labour Court for prosecution.
 The Department of Labour may block non-compliant companies from
doing business with government.
 DISCRIMINATORY ACTIONS.
 Not employing young woman/s because she would want to have
children in future.
 Refusing to employ a person because he/she has strong religious
beliefs/ has a disability.
 Doing HIV testing unless justified by the Labour Court.

 WAYS TO COMPLY.
 Promote equal opportunities and fair treatment.
 Ensure that there is equal representation of all racial groups in every
level of employment.

BASIC CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT ACT/BCEA

1.PURPOSE.

 Set minimum requirements/standards for the employment contract.

 Provide clear terms and conditions of employment for employers and
employees.

2. IMPACT.

POSITIVES

 Promotes fair treatment of employees in business.

 Encourages consultation between employers and employees.

NEGATIVES

 Developing a formal employment contract may be time consuming/costly.

 No employer may force an employee to work more than 45 hours in a
week.

3. DISCRIMINATORY ACTIONS.

 Forbidding workers to discuss wages/salaries with co-workers.

 Preventing workers from having access to employment contracts.
 Refusing to accept a valid medical certificate of a sick worker.

4. PENALTIES.

 Businesses may be taken to the labour court for ruling.

 Businesses that are found guilty of non-compliance may face heavy
fines/penalties.

5. WAYS TO COMPLY
  Workers should only work 9 hours per day in a 5 day work week./ 8 hours
per day in a 6 day work week./ overtime should not exceed 10 hours per
week.
 They must have a break of 60 minutes after five hours of work.
 Workers can take up to six weeks paid sick leave during a 36 month cycle.
 Business should not employ children under the age of 16.
 Workers must receive double if they work during public holidays/Sundays.

6 PROVISIONS OF THE BCEA

HOURS OF WORK/ WORK HOURS

 Workers may not work more than 45 hours in any week.

 Workers may work 9 hours a day if they work 5 days or less per week/ 8
hours a day if they work more than five days a week.

OVERTIME

 Workers must agree to work overtime.

 Workers cannot work more than 3 hours overtime per day/10 hours per
week.
 Overtime must be compensated as follows:
One and half times a normal rate of pay for overtime worked on week days
and Saturdays
Double the normal rate of pay for overtime worked on Sundays and public
holidays.

LEAVE
TYPES OF LEAVES

1. ANNUAL LEAVE
 Workers are entitled to 21 consecutive days annual leave per year
2. SICK LEAVE
 Workers are entitled to six weeks paid sick leave in a period of 36
months.
 Medical certificate may be required before paying an employee.
3. MATERNITY LEAVE
 A pregnant employee is entitled to four consecutive months leave.
4. FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY LEAVE.
 Three to five days paid leave per year on request in the event of the
death of the employee’s spouse/life partner/parent/adoptive
parent/ grandparent/child/ adoptive child/grandchildren/ sibling.
MEAL BREAK.
 Workers must have a meal break of 60 minutes after five continuous
hours of work.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
 Workers must be paid for any public holidays that fall on a working
day.
 Work of public holidays is by agreement and paid at double the rate.
TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT.
 A contract of employment can be terminated following one week
notice, if the worker has been employed for six months or less.
 A minimum of four weeks’ notice must be given if the worker has
been employed for a year or longer.
CHILD AND FORCED LABOUR
 It is illegal to employ a child younger than 15 years of age.
 It is also illegal to force someone to work.

COMPENSATION FOR OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES AND DESEASES ACT/COIDA

PURPOSES.
  Provides a protection to employees who injured in the course of
performing their duties.
 It excludes workers who are guilty of wilful misconduct/ workers working
outside South Africa for at least twelve months/ members of South African
National Defence Force/police services.

IMPACT

POSITIVES

 Promotes safety in the workplace.

 Employees do not contribute towards this fund.

NEGATIVES

 Procedures required by this ACT may be costly as paper work places an

extra administrative burden on businesses
 Domestic/military workers are not covered.

DISCRIMINATORY ACTIONS

 Preventing employees from a specific racial group/gender in reporting the

accident/injury.
 Providing protective clothing to only male employees

PENALTIES

 Business can be fined for refusing to lodge the claim.

 Employees may take the business to court for not registering them with the
Commissioner of the Compensation Fund.

WAYS TO COMPLY

 Business should provide a healthy/safety working environment.

  Register with the Compensation Commissioner and provides the particulars
of the business.
 Reports all incidents causing death/injury/illness of employees.

BROAD BASED BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT/BBBEE

PURPOSES

 Enable wealth to be spread more broadly across all population groups.

 It aims at targeting inequality in the South African economy.

IMPACT

POSITIVES

 A good BEE rating improves the image of the business.

 A business that complies with BBBEE will be rated high in the BEE
scorecards/may get Government tenders.

NEGATIVES

 Businesses that want to do business with Government must have their BEE
status assessed annually.
 Process may lead to corruption if not monitored properly.

DISCRIMINATORY ACTIONS

 Orginising social responsibility programmes for a specific cultural group in

the community.
 Offering shareholding opportunities to specific gender/racial group.

PENALTIES

 Businesses may face imprisonment for non-compliance.

 A penalty could be a fine of up to 10% of the companies’ annual turnover.

WAYS TO COMPLY

 Businesses must appoint black people in managerial positions.

 Business must sell shares to black employees/people.
 Send black employees for skills development training.

BBBEE PILLARS
1. MANAGEMENT CONTROL
2. SKILLS DEVELOPMENT.
 3. OWNERSHIP
4. ENTERPRISE AND SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT
5. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY/ SOCIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

IMPLICATIONS OF BBBEE PILLARS ON BUSINESSES

1. MANAGEMENT CONTROL.
 Appoint black people in senior executive positions/top management.
 Ensure that black females are represented in management.
2. SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
 Business must engage black employees in skills development
initiatives.
 Provide learnership programmes to black employees.
3. OWNERSHIP
 Business should include black people in
shareholding/partnerships/franchises.
 More opportunities are created for black people to become owners.
4. ENTERPRISE AND SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT.
 Businesses are encouraged to invest/support black owned SMMEs.
 Identify black owned suppliers that are able to supply goods and
services.
5. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY/ SOCIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
 Plan and budget for CSI projects.
 They should distribute scarce CSI resources to selected beneficiaries
in the community.

NATIONAL CREDIT ACT/NCA.

PURPOSES

 Ensure that consumers know what is included in their credits contracts.

  Prevent discrimination and ensure credit is available to all consumers.

IMPACT

POSITIVES

 Increases cash sales as credit can only be granted to qualifying customers.

 Protects businesses against non-paying customers.

NEGATIVES

 Businesses that are official credit providers, must submit a compliance

report every year
 Debt collection procedures are more complex and expensive.

DISCRIMINATORY ACTIONS

 Refusing credit to customers based on gender/race.

 Charging different interest rates to customers based on gender/race.

PENALTIES

 The court may declare the granting of credit by business reckless and may
order customers not to repay the cred to the business.
 National credit regulator may impose a fine/penalty on the business for
non-compliance.

WAYS TO COMPLY

 Credit providers must be registered with the National Credit Regulator.

 Businesses must submit an annual compliance report to the National Credit
Regulator.
 Disclose all costs of loan/ no hidden costs should be charged/added.

CONSUMER RIGHTS

 Obtain reasons for credit being refused.

 Choose which goods they will buy and return such goods if they are not
satisfied.
  Receive information in plain and understandable language.

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

Purpose of the Consumer Protection Act
  Promotes and protects the economic interests of consumers by providing
access to information.
 Ensures that consumers are not misled/deceived by suppliers of
goods/services

Impact of the CPA on businesses

Positives/Advantages
 Businesses may be safeguarded from dishonest consumers.
 May gain consumer loyalty, if they comply with CPA.

Negatives/Disadvantages
 Penalties for non-compliance may be very high.
 Staff need to be trained /Legal experts need to be consulted, which can
increase costs.

Discriminatory actions according to the CPA

 Denying customers proper information about the product/services.
 Treating customers differently based on gender/age/race.

Penalties for non-compliance with the NCA

 Businesses may face fines or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10
years.
 Businesses will be forced to compensate consumers in line with the
extent to which their rights have been violated.

Ways in which businesses can comply with the CPA

 Disclose prices of all products on sale.
 Provide adequate training to staff on the CPA.

Consumer rights of the Consumer Protection Act

Right to choose
Consumers have the right to:
 choose suppliers and/or goods.

Right to privacy and confidentiality

 Consumers have the right to stop/restrict unwanted direct marketing.

Right to fair and honest dealings

 Suppliers may not give misleading/false information.

Right to information about products and agreements/Right to disclosure

and information
 Contracts and agreements should be in plain language and easy to
understand.

Right to fair/responsible marketing/promotion

 Businesses should not mislead consumers on pricing, benefits/uses of
goods.

Right to accountability from suppliers

 Consumers have the right to be protected in lay-bye agreements.

Right to fair/just/reasonable terms and conditions

 Businesses should provide consumers with written notices of clauses that
may limit consumer rights.

Right to equality in the consumer market place

 Businesses may not charge different prices for the same goods/services.

Right to return goods/have goods replaced/claim a refund

 Faulty items may be returned for a full refund.

Right to complain
 Consumers may use various methods/channels to complain about poor
quality goods/services.
 Right to privacy/confidentiality
 Consumers have the right to stop/restrict unwanted direct marketing.
 They can object to unwanted promotional e-mails and telesales.
 They have the right to stop/lodge complaints about sharing personal
details.

Right to fair value/good quality/safety

 Businesses should provide consumers with written notices of clauses that
may limit consumer rights.
 Businesses may not market/sell goods at unfair prices.

Right to fair/honest dealings

 Suppliers may not use physical force/harass customers.
 Businesses cannot promote pyramid/chain-letter schemes

Right to fair value/good quality/safety

 Consumers may demand quality services/goods.
 Reject goods that are not the same as the sample marketed
 Return faulty items if the fault occurs within six months after purchasing
the item