Nationwide DoEL Inspection Blitz Update
Since July 2024, the Department of Employment and Labour (DoEL) has increased efforts to ensure adherence to employment laws across all nine provinces through blitz inspections, which have been conducted in partnership with the Department of Home Affairs, the Bargaining Council of the Hospitality Sector, and law enforcement agencies including the South African Police Service and the Hawks.
The Minster of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, recently provided an update on these joint compliance, inspection and enforcement initiatives.
Findings
The Western Cape led with the highest number of inspections, totalling 809, with Gauteng on 764 and KwaZulu-Natal with 535 inspections. Inspections were also carried out in the North West (217), Eastern Cape (82), Free State (69) and Mpumalanga (59).
The Department’s findings indicate that around 50% of the nearly 2,700 companies that were inspected were found to be non-compliant, including in terms of underpayment of wages, unlawful deductions being made, and inadequate health and safety measures being in place. Investigations into the latter category uncovered a lack of designated health and safety representatives, insufficient personal protective equipment, a lack of proper signage for first-aid facilities, failure to conduct ergonomic risk assessments, and poor workplace housekeeping and safety record-keeping as the most prevalent issues.
Impact
It is critical that businesses are compliant with legislation in order to ensure fairness, good health, and safety in the workplace, and to avoid penalties. To date, monetary corrections totalling over R10 million have been enforced, with employers having to rectify violations and honour their contractual obligations to employees.
Next Steps
While compliance is always crucial, the need to comply sooner rather than later is made even more urgent by Minister Meth’s announcement of plans to expand the inspectorate. She envisions increasing the number of inspectors from 2 000 to 20 000 over the medium-term expenditure framework period, with the aim to improve the capacity for conducting comprehensive audits and inspections nationwide.
Ensure Compliance
To ensure your business stays compliant and avoids costly penalties, it is vital to assess your current workplace practices and make the necessary improvements. Labournet is here to assist you with compliance audits, health and safety assessments, and ensuring your employment practices meet the standards set by the DoEL. Don’t wait for an inspection to uncover issues—get ahead of the process now.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation: marketing@labournet.com