Esterhuizen, W: Managing Employment Equity in South Africa

The enactment of the Employment Equity Act (no 55 of 1998) created high hopes for establishing equity in the South African workplace. Ten years later, reports indicate that progress on employment equity (EE) has been slow and that dissatisfaction and frustration among role players prevail. Most companies focus on ‘equitable representation‘ and pay little attention to employees‘ perceptions of the fairness of EE practices. Employees‘ fairness perceptions are important because it is linked to key organisational outcomes. EE programs will only be effective if they comply with legislative as well as fairness requirements. The legislative requirements, role players in, barriers to and success factors for EE are identified. The fairness requirements that are underpinned by organisational justice theory are identified. A model that integrates legal and justice requirements is applied to a case organisation. This book should be helpful to HR practitioners and managers who are responsible for complying with and managing EE. It could also be useful to consultants who assist employers with EE.