Postal Address: Private Bag X117, PRETORIA, 0001 • Street Address: Laboria Building, Francis Baard Street, PRETORIA
Tel: 0860101018 Fax: (012) 309 4737 or (012) 309 4188
CONSULTANTS/SERVICE PROVIDERS POSING AS CEO/ACCOUNTING OFFICER AND EE MANAGER
How to ensure authentic documentation
The Department of Labour requests employers to verify the contact details provided in Section A of the EE Reporting forms (EEA2 and EEA4) before signing and authorising the online submission of the EE Report to the Department of Labour. Please ensure the name and email addresses of the CEO/Accounting Officer and EE Manager are correct.
Employers are requested to verify again the contact details of the CEO/Accounting Officer and EE Manager in Section A of the forms before submission by staff or service provider to ensure the accuracy and correctness of the information, especially the email address. After the submission of the EE Report, the employer will automatically receive a copy of the submitted forms by email from ().
The correctness of the email address of CEO, Accounting Officer in the case of Government Departments or institutions and the EE Manager, is a prerequisite to ensure that the correspondence received by the employer confirming successful compliance with reporting requirements is authentic.
Employers are discouraged to accept letters regarding the compliance status of their employment equity reports that are not directly emailed to them via the Department of Labour’s EE Online Reporting Service (). The correspondences must be system generated which entails the following:
F Coat of arms
F DOL reference number
F Contact person
F Date
F Director-General’s signature
Correspondence from the Department of Labour received indirectly by the employer through means other than the EE Online Reporting Service must be verified with the Department of Labour for authenticity.
Employers are cautioned not to accept acknowledgement letters of successful completion and submission of EE reports in terms of the Section 21 of the Employment Equity Act, 1998, as amended that are presented by hand or emailed from a personal mailbox by any person or official, other than via the automated processes of the EE Online Reporting Service ().
Employers who allow third parties to fraudulently enter email addresses that are not their own, or who fail to verify the email addresses of the CEO/ Accounting Officer and the EE manager may experience the following:
v The employer does not receive reminder letters with login and activation details from the Department of Labour.
v The employer does not receive the acknowledgement letter confirming compliance for the EE report submitted to the Department of Labour.
v The employer does not receive copies of their EEA2 and EEA4 reports submitted online.
v The employer does not receive notice of the approaching deadline for the closure of the EE online reporting service, in the case of incomplete reports that have not been finalized and submitted before 15 January.
v The employer does not receive information, notices or invitations to stakeholder events from the Department of Labour.
v The employer’s data security may be compromised, if the employer’s login details are forwarded to third parties that are no longer contracted by the company.
The obligation on the CEO/Accounting Officer to annually submit an EE Report in terms of section 21 of the Act as amended is retained regardless of whether or not consultants/service providers are engaged to assist the employer.
How to avoid legal repercussions
Employers must not allow their service providers/consultants to replace information on the prescribed forms EEA2 and EEA4 pertaining to the contact details of the CEO/Accounting Officer and assigned EE Manager with those of their consultants.
Employers are reminded of the following legal provisions:
v Section 61 (1) (b) of the Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998 as amended (EEA) criminalizes obstruction of justice, undue influence and fraud and makes it a punishable offence.
Section 61 (1) (b) states the following:
‘No person may knowingly give false information in any document or information provided to the Director-General or a labour inspector in terms of this Act.’
v The Employment Equity Amendment Act No. 47 of 2013 imposes a maximum fine of R30 000 as a form of punitive sanction. The new provision also states that a person who contravenes a provision of this section commits an offence and may be sentenced to a fine not exceeding
R30 000.
v Employers may be referred to Court for providing false information to the Director-General and the above-mentioned fine becomes enforceable as a means of deterrence.
v Section 24 of the Act makes it obligatory for employers to assign one or more Senior Managers to take responsibility for monitoring and implementing employment equity plans. This provision refers to managers that are currently employed by the designated employers concerned and not part-time service providers/consultants.
Additional guidelines may be obtained on the EE login homepage by clicking on “Organisational changes” tab to view:
· “How to request changes to organisational details”; and
· “How to apply for deregistration from the EE Public Register”.
For more information kindly contact:
012 309 4016
012 309 4712
012309 4043
012309 4016
012309 4330
012 309 4423
012 309 4102
012 309 4037
IMPORTANT:
An Accounting Officer (AO) is equivalent to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
An Accounting Officer/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is equivalent to a Municipal Manager or Director-General.
An Accounting Officer/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is not equivalent to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). A Chief Financial Officer cannot sign on behalf of the CEO.