Maintenance Act, 1998
R 385
Employment Equity Act, 1998 (Act No. 55 of 1998)Code of Good PracticeCode of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace3. Legal Framework |
| 3.1 | The International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted a new Convention, 190 concerning the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. The Convention obliges ratifying states to adopt, in accordance with national laws and circumstances, and in consultation with representative employers' and workers' organizations, an inclusive, integrated and gender-responsive approach to the prevention and elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work.3 |
| 3.2 | The EEA is one of several statutes that address issues dealt with in Convention, 190. The EEA does so by prohibiting the harassment of employees on a ground listed in terms of section 6(1). |
| 3.3 | The Minister has previously issued the Code of Good Practice on the Handling of Sexual Harassment cases in the Workplace in 2005. This Code replaces the 2005 Code and, in particular, seeks to— |
| 3.3.1 | provide guidance in respect of harassment on any of the prohibited grounds; and |
| 3.3.2 | take into account recent developments in case law, statutes, issues dealt with in ILO Convention, 190 and other ratified Conventions. |
| 3.4 | Section 5 of the EEA requires employers to take steps to promote equal opportunity in the workplace by eliminating unfair discrimination, including harassment in any employment policy or practice. Harassment in the workplace is a form of unfair discrimination, which employers are required to eliminate, and it constitutes a barrier to equity in the workplace. |
| 3.5 | Section 6(1) of the EEA states that: "no person may unfairly discriminate, directly or indirectly, against an employee, in any employment policy or practice, on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, HIV status, conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language, birth or on any other arbitrary ground." |
| 3.6 | Section 6(3) of the EEA states that, "Harassment of an employee is a form of unfair discrimination and is prohibited on any one, or a combination of grounds in section 6(1) of the EEA." |
________________________________________
| 3 | The Violence and Harassment Convention, No. 190 of 2019 can be accessed at: |
https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C190
