The Gender Equality Law, 2011 addresses many areas where discrimination may occur in recruitment and employment on the prohibited grounds of sex, marital status, pregnancy or gender characteristics.
Employers cannot discriminate against any person on the prohibited grounds in -
- advertisements or notices;
- interviews;
- the selection process;
- terms or conditions offered to employees;
- the creation, classification or abolition of jobs;
- work conditions, occupational safety, and health measures;
- providing facilities related to the job;
- denying or limiting access to opportunities for advancement, promotion, transfer or training, or any other benefits, facilities or services associated with employment;
- retrenching or dismissing the employee; or
- subjecting the employee to any other disadvantage.
Employers also may not ask employees for information that would not be asked of a person of the opposite sex, or of a different marital status or pregnant state, in a similar situation.
Under the Law, an employer is also liable for any act done by an individual employee whether or not it was done with the employer's knowledge or approval. However, if a complaint is made against an employer on this basis it is a defence for the employer to show that all reasonable steps were taken to prevent the individual employee from commiting a discriminatory act.
Equal Pay
The Law explicitly asserts that there equal pay for work of equal value performed by men and women.
If an employee files a discrimination complaint relating to his or her pay, the burden of proof to establish that equal remuneration has been paid rests on the employer.
