New equity act comes into operation

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Zuma declared 1 August 2014 as the date on which the Employment Equity Amendment Act 2013 comes into effect.

The Employment Equity Amendment Act No. 47 of 2013 was approved by President Zuma, in January 2014, and later published in the Government Gazette on 16 January 2014.

The amendments gave effect to constitutional rights like the right to equality, fair labour practices as well as protection against unfair discrimination. It further strengthened the implementation and enforcement mechanisms of the Act by increasing fines for non-compliance and introduces the concept of equal pay for work of equal value.

Employers are reminded that the deadline for manual reporting is 1 October 2014, while online filing is 15 January 2015.

According to the Department of Labour's employment equity directorate, 98.5% of reports received in the last financial year were online while only 1.5% was manual.