The appointment of compliance officers in the workplace: A necessary measure in order to achieve gender transformation.
Date: 06 May 2023
By Tsietsi Shuping
Compliance means adherence to legislation, regulations, industry codes, standards, company internal policies and procedures. Companies should ensure compliance with these prescripts because non-compliance may attract sanctions and consequence of penalties, fines, imprisonment, and reputational risk.
Generally, it is the responsibility of the Compliance Officers/Managers to provide internal compliance that supports the company in its duty to comply with relevant prescripts and laws. Compliance is an independent function and should be exercised impartially and effectively.
It is concerning when companies become selective to comply with operational and regulatory requirements as opposed to employment equity and transformation legislation such as the Employment Equity Act.
Non-compliance with transformation legislation impacts negatively on employees and the creation of a conducive working environment. The effects of non-compliance with transformation legislation should not be undermined despite not carrying the same monetary and restrictive penalties that affect the company’s operations and profitability.
For our society to transform, companies should continue to create and improve the enabling working environment for the Compliance Officers to independently carry out their functions. There should be a balance between the company’s operational and profitability interests and the creation of an enabling working environment for the employees.
The President has signed into law the Employment Equity Amendment Bill of 2020 into law. The amendment seeks to advance transformation of the South Africa’s workplace by setting equity targets for economic sectors. For these reasons, it is critical for employers to appoint compliance officers to ensure compliance with the amendment Act in order to avoid sanctions that may be imposed for failing to achieve sectoral targets.
Tsietsi Shuping is a Legal Officer at the CGE