Skills Development Act (SDA)

Skills Development Act (SDA), 1998 (Act 97 of 1998)

• Aims to improve worker skills in businesses.
• Intends to correct past imbalances through education and training.
• Seeks to develop skills in South Africa to boost productivity.
• Promotes investment in worker education and training.
• Encourages workers to participate in learning programmes.

Impact of the SDA on Business

• Advantages include improved worker skills, redressing past imbalances, increased productivity, investment in worker training, and worker participation in learning programmes.
• Disadvantages include many training service providers not being SAQA accredited, difficulty in monitoring and controlling implementation, increased costs due to paperwork, and skills development not always addressing employee training needs.

Actions Regarded as Non-Compliance

• Providing employment services for gain without employer registration.
• Providing fraudulent or false information in any prescribed document.
• Preventing employees from signing up for learnerships due to age or position.

Penalties/Consequences for Non-Compliance

• Businesses not paying the Skills Development Levy cannot offer learnerships or claim grants from SDA.
• A labor inspector may halt operations of businesses with illegal practices relating to skills development.

Ways Businesses Can Comply with the SDA

• Offer all employees opportunities to improve skills.
• Employers who collect SDL should register with SARS.
• Encourage participation in learnerships and training programmes.
• Pay 1% of employer payroll to SARS.
• Businesses should register with relevant SETAs.

Role/Functions of SETAs in Supporting Skills Development

• Register learnership agreements.
• Promote and establish learnerships.
• Report to the Director General.
• Provide accreditation to skills development facilitators.

How SETAs are Funded

• Funds received for rendering their services.
• Surplus funds from government institutions.
• Donations and grants from the public.

Meaning of Learnerships

• Theoretical and practical training leading to recognised occupational qualifications.
• May have employment for a period after completion.
• Results in a NQF registered qualification.
• Includes a structured component and practical work experience.

National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS)

• Aims to increase skills in the public sector for better service delivery.
• Focuses on better workplace-based skills development.
• Addresses low language and mathematical skills among youth and adults.

Human Resource Development Strategy (HRDS)

• Addresses skills shortages in the South African workforce.
• Improves the supply of skills.
• Develops short-term and long-term workforce skills.
• Increases employee participation in lifelong learning.

Labour Relations Act (LRA), 1995 (Act 66 of 1995)

• Establishes Labour Courts and Labour Appeal Courts.
• Promotes fair labour practice between employers and employees.
• Allows employers to lock-out employees in response to lengthy strikes.
• Promotes collective bargaining at the workplace.

Impact of the LRA on Businesses

• Advantages include the protection of business rights, quicker and less expensive labour dispute resolution, healthier employer-employee relationships, and workplace forums adding value.
• Disadvantages include increased labour costs due to legal strikes, inability to get court interdicts to stop strikes, production losses from strike actions, and reduced global competitiveness due to lower productivity.

Actions Regarded as Non-Compliance with the LRA

• Preventing employees from joining trade unions.
• Refusing to establish workplace forums.
• Forcing employees to give up trade union membership.
• Not allowing employees to participate in a legal strike.

Penalties/Consequences for Non-Compliance

• Employers may be forced into dispute resolution.
• Businesses failing to comply may face financial costs, e.g., CCMA fees.
• Businesses will be fined if they fail to comply with agreements reached during dispute resolution.

Ways Businesses Can Comply with the LRA

• Allow employees to form/join trade unions, participate in union activities/legal strikes.
• Employers must not breach any collective agreements.
• Allow/support the establishment of workplace forums.
• Employees should not be unfairly/illegally dismissed.

Rights of Employers

• Form a bargaining council for collective bargaining.
• Dismiss employees in an unprotected strike.
• Form employer organizations.
• Lockout employees in an illegal strike.
• Refer unresolved workplace disputes to the CCMA.
• Refer unresolved CCMA disputes to the Labour Court on appeal.

Rights of Employees

• Embark on legal strikes as a remedy for grievances.

Employment Equity Act (EEA), 1998 (Act 55 of 1998)

• Promotes equal opportunity and fair treatment in the workplace.
• Provides for employees to refer unresolved disputes to the CCMA.
• Protects employees from victimisation for exercising EEA rights.
• Prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, or disability.

Impact of the EEA on Businesses

• Advantages include encouraging diversity and promoting equal opportunities, so employees can be promoted.
• Disadvantages include expenses to train/employ someone less knowledgeable about the Act, administrative burdens from employment equity reports every two years, and positions going unfilled due to lack of suitable employment equity candidates.

Actions Regarded as Non-Compliance with the EEA

• Denying people access to the workforce based on gender/race/culture.
• Not employing a young woman because she will want to have children in future.
• Refusing to employ a person because he/she has a disability.

Penalties/Consequences for Non-Compliance

• Fines may be imposed for failure to comply with reporting obligations.
• Department of Labour may block non-compliant companies from doing business with the government.
• Business may be taken to the Labour Court for prosecution.

Ways Businesses Can Comply with the EEA

• Reasonable accommodation of people from designated groups.
• Implement an employment equity plan.
• Employees must be paid equally for work of equal value.
• Business must guard against discriminatory appointments.
• Promote equal opportunities and fair treatment.

Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), (Act 75 of 1997)

• Regulates fair labour practices as per the Constitution.
• Provides clear employment terms and conditions for employers and employees.
• Regulates variations of basic employment conditions.
• Advances economic development and social justice.

Impact of the BCEA on Businesses

• Advantages include: Employees may submit complaints to labour inspectors, encourages consultation between employers and employees and promotes fair treatment of employees, so work hours are specified.
• Disadvantages include: Developing legal employment contracts being time-consuming/costly, Employers not forcing employees to work more than 45 hours in a week, hiring cheap labour no longer being possible and BCEA forcing businesses to comply with many legal requirements.

Actions Regarded as Non-Compliance with the BCEA

• Preventing workers from accessing employment contracts.
• Refusing to accept a valid medical certificate from a sick worker.
• Refusing to grant leave to support a sick family member.
• Forbidding workers from discussing wages/salaries with co-workers.

Penalties/Consequences for Non-Compliance

• Businesses may be ordered to pay compensation and damages to the employee.
• The Director General may cancel the compliance order.
• Labour inspectors may serve a compliance order.
• Businesses may be taken to the labour court for a ruling.

Ways Businesses Can Comply with the BCEA

• Businesses should not employ children under 16.
• Workers can take a 60-minute meal break after five continuous work hours.
• Workers receive double pay for working on public holidays/Sundays.
• Workers can take up to six weeks paid sick leave during a 36-month cycle.

Provisions of the BCEA

• Work hours: Workers may not work more than 45 hours a week.
• Workers may work 9 hours a day if they work 5 days or less a week.
• Workers may work 8 hours a day if they work more than five days a week.
• Annual leave: Workers are entitled to 21 consecutive days per year/ One day for every 17 days worked/ on hour for every 17 hours worked.
• An employer can only pay leave if the worker leaves the job.
• Annual leave must be granted within six months
• Sick Leave: Workers get six weeks paid sick leave over 36 months.
• Workers receive 1 day paid sick leave for every 26 days worked during the first six months of employment.
• A medical certificate may be required if absent for more than two days/frequently absent.
• Maternity Leave: Female workers get up to four months' leave with medical proof.
• The employee must bot perform dangerous work.
• Family responsibility leave: Employees get 3 – 5 days leave for sickness/death of a child or direct relative.
• Parental leave: Employees, other than mothers giving birth, are entitled to 10 days unpaid leave once per year.
• Refers to unpaid leave, but employees may claim from the UIF.
• Employees will no longer be allowed to take Family Responsibility leave for the birth of a child.
• Adoption leave: Applies to parents of children under two years old.
• One parent is entitled to 10 weeks while the other is entitled to Parental leave.
• Commissioning Parental Leave: Applies when using a surrogate; Primary caregivers will qualify for 10 consecutive weeks of leave and the other parent gets 10 days.
• Meal Breaks and Rest Periods: Workers must have a 60-minute meal break after five continuous work hours.
• The break can be reduced to 30 minutes.
• Overtime: Workers must agree to overtime with a maximum of three hours per day/10 hours per week
• Workers receive double the normal rate of pay for overtime worked on Sundays and public holidays.
• Overtime can be paid or the employee may agree to paid time off.
• Termination of employment: Requires one weeks’ notice if the worker has been employed for six months or less.
• The notice must be in writing. Child and forced labour: It is illegal to employ a child younger than 15/to force someone to work.
• Businesses may employ children over the age of 15 years if the employment is not harmful to their education / moral/ social development.
• Children / Minors under 18 years of age may not do dangerous work / work meant for an adult.

Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act (COIDA), 1997 (Act 61 of 1997)

• COIDA applies to all casual and full-time workers who become ill/ injured/disabled/ killed due to a workplace accident/disease.
• Provides comprehensive protection to employees injured on duty.
• It excludes workers who are guilty of wilful misconduct/ workers working outside South Africa for at least twelve months/ members of SANDF/ SAPS.

Impact of the COIDA on Businesses

• Advantages include: Promoting safety in the workplace and eliminating time and costs of civil court proceedings, so employees do not have to contribute towards this fund.
• Disadvantages include: Claiming processes being time-consuming and employers having to register all of their workers to COIDA, which may result is cash-flow problems.

Actions Regarded as Non-Compliance with the COIDA

• Employers who do not contribute.
• Employers who take long to process claims.
• Employers who bribe/prevent employees from reporting the accident/ injury.
• Compensation that is set off against any debt of the person entitled to the compensation.

Penalties/Consequences for Non-Compliance

• Businesses may be forced to pay recovery costs required by the Compensation Fund.
• Employees may take the employer to court.
• Fines may be imposed.
• Businesses may pay large penalties if found guilty of any misconduct/face imprisonment.

Ways Businesses Can Comply with the COIDA

• Submit returns of earnings by no later than 1 March annually.
• Pay levies to the Compensation Fund.
• Provide a healthy/safe working environment.
• Report incidents causing death/ injury/ illness of employees.

Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, Act 2003, (Act 53 of 2003), (amended in 2013)

• Aims at spreading wealth across population segments.
• Allows for the development of Codes of Good Practice.
• Targets inequality in the South African economy.

Impact of the BBBEE on Businesses

• Advantages include: Increased skill levels of disadvantaged people as businesses are compelled to train them, high regard on the BEE scorecard and provides for human resource development through training or skills development.
• Disadvantages include: Processes that may lead to corruption / nepotism if it is not monitored properly, non-compliance may have huge financial implications for businesses, investments / ownership issues may lead to satisfaction between current shareholders, and businesses that want to do business with the government must have their BEE status assessed annually.

Actions Regarded as Non-Compliance with the BBBEE

• Failing to implement affirmative action.
• Refusing to award tenders to black suppliers.
• Promoting unsuitable people into a management positions at the expense of qualified PDI’s.

Penalties/Consequences for Non-Compliance

• Business licenses may not be renewed, and authorisation may not be issued.
• Penalties can be a fine of up to 10% of annual turnover.
• Businesses may face imprisonment and can be banned from participating in government contracts for 10 years.

Ways Businesses Can Comply with the BBBEE

• Develop small businesses / SMMEs through ESD.
• Improve the standard of living of the communities in which they operate.
• Appoint black people in managerial positions and send black people for skill development training.

Implications of the Revised BBBEE Pillars on Businesses

• Management control: Business must ensure that transformation is implemented at all levels.
• Skills Development: Business must engage black employees in skills development initiatives.
• Ownership: Business should include black people in shareholding/partnerships/franchises.
• Enterprise and supplier development (ESD): Business must create jobs as ESD promotes local manufacturing.
• Businesses are encouraged to invest/support black owned SMMEs.
• Social responsibility/Socio-economic development: Distribute scarce CSI resources to beneficiaries in the community and focus on critical areas which can affect growth and development in the country.

National Credit Act, 2005 (NCA) (Act 34 of 2005)

• Ensures customers know what is included in their credit contracts.
• Ensures registrations of credit bureau and debt counselling services.
• Protects businesses against non-paying consumers.
• Stamps out reckless lending and prevents businesses from bankruptcy.
• Increases cash sales as credit can only be granted to qualifying customers.

Actions Regarded as Non-Compliance with the NCA

• Charging different interest rates based on gender/race.
• Not communicating reasons for credit refusal.
• Refusing credit based on gender/ race.
• Blacklisting without debt recovery efforts.

Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (CPA) (Act 68 of 28 April 2008)

• Strengthens consumer rights and responsibilities, empowers legal action if rights are violated. Empowers consumers to take legal action if their rights are not upheld
• Prevents larger business from undermining smaller ones.

Consumer Rights In Terms of the CPA

• Right to choose: choose suppliers and goods, shop around for the best prices and return unsafe or defective goods.
• Right to privacy: Stop unwanted marketing emails and phone sales.
• Right to fair dealings: Suppliers may not use physical force or give misleading information to customers.
• Right to information: Contracts available in plain language
• Right to fair terms: Should not market/sell goods at unfair prices.
• Right to equality: Limited access to goods and services and different prices for the same goods or services.

Test your knowledge of the Skills Development Act (SDA) in South Africa. This quiz covers compliance, contributions, and the role of SETAs. It also tests your understanding of learnerships and the National Skills Development Strategy.