The Employment Equity Act (1998)

Recognising that, as a result of apartheid and other discriminatory laws and practices, there are disparities in employment, occupation and income within the national labour market and that those disparities create such pronounced disadvantages for certain categories of people that they cannot be redressed simply by repealing discriminatory laws. Therefore, the Act was instituted to:

The purpose of the Act is to achieve equity in the workplace by:

• Promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination
• Implementing affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups, in order to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce.

A designated employer must prepare and implement an employment equity plan which will achieve reasonable progress towards employment equity in that employer’s workforce.

This Act ensures that training is equitable. The right to equality is defined in the SA Bill of Rights.