What legal posters must you display?
Several legal posters summarising pieces of legislation are available but, by law, employers need only display two, namely the summary of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the summary of the Employment Equity Act.
Employers who don’t comply may be fined by the Department of Labour.
You can buy the posters from the Government Printers download them at www.labour.gov.za.
a) Summary of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act:
Section 30 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act requires all employers to display the employee’s rights, at the workplace. It must be in the prescribed form and displayed in the official language(s) spoken by employees at the workplace.
b) Summary of the Employment Equity Act:
Section 25(1) of the Employment Equity Act requires employers to display a summary of the Act.
Employers with five or more persons in their employment must have a copy of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Act 85 of 1993) and the relevant regulations readily available at the workplace. Even where the total number of employees is less than five, the employer must, on request of an employee, make a copy of the Act available to that employee.
This prescription does not refer to a wall chart but a full version of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act) and the relevant regulations.
The General Machinery Regulations (GMR) of the OHS Act may require certain employers to display compulsory wall charts as well.
Firstly, Regulation 9(2) of the GMR requires employers with boilers on the premises to display a copy of Schedule C. This summary must be in a legible form in a conspicuous place at the premises. The display of Schedule C would thus be compulsory to employers with boilers on premises.
Secondly, Schedule D of the GMR requires employers with machinery other than a boiler to display a copy of Schedule D. It must be in a legible form displayed in a conspicuous place.