The manual Employment Equity Reporting deadline of 3 October 2011, set by the Department of Labour, for companies intending to manually lodge returns and reports on their employment equity status, is drawing close.
The electronic deadline has been confirmed by the department, and companies intending to submit electronic returns will have more time, as online submissions are due on 16 January 2012. The additional time allowed is to encourage companies to convert to electronic submissions.
Grant Lloyd, managing director of payroll and HR software specialist Softline Pastel Payroll, points out that companies with less than 150 employees but more than 50, are required to submit only every second year. Companies with more than 150 employees submit every year. This year it is companies with more than 150 employees that have to submit their returns by 3 October.
“Employers with payroll software that accommodates the relevant reporting templates will find all of the information necessary to accurately complete the return resides conveniently in their payroll system,” says Lloyd.
Automated payroll software can assist companies to monitor and formally report on employment equity status, growth and progress, by populating the EEA1, EEA2 and EEA4 reports from the automated payroll and HR software solution, as required by the Department of Labour. This streamlines the Employment Equity Reporting process. Companies using spreadsheets to compile reports must first ensure that all changes in reporting layouts have been accommodated so that their spreadsheet submissions are fully compliant to avoid penalties.
In this year's Employment Equity (CEE) Annual Report, labour minister Mildred Oliphant said it was important to highlight the fact that data presented indicates that white females and Indians among the designated groups have benefited more from affirmative action. The report showed that a total of 18 534 reports were received and 16 698 of those were analysed covering more than 5.2 million employees. The Department of Labour is targeting a 25% increase in the number of employment equity (EE) reports to be analysed for the current reporting cycle - and to achieve this they have embarked on a national road show series of workshops.
The Department of Labour is hosting these free seminars to create awareness regarding compliance with the law, and help employers to follow the requirements of the Act. Visit http://www.labour.gov.za, for more information on the Employment Equity seminars or contact Ntshoza at zoleka.ntshoza@labour.gov.za (012) 309-4164 and 084 76 95 834.
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