This article gives a general overview of the skills development element for the Amended Financial Sector Codes.
The Amended Financial Sector Codes guides the skills development element, read together with the Amended Codes of Good Practice. The Codes of Good Practice apply only to the extent that the Amended Financial Sector Code is silent.
Before an entity can claim any points on skills development, it is important to note that they must comply with the following pre-requisites:
- The organisation must have a submitted and approved Workplace Skills Plan;
- The organisation must have implemented a plan to develop priority skills of black employees;
- The organisation must comply with the Skills Development Levies Act;
Should the measured entity fail to comply with the criteria mentioned above, the measured entity cannot claim points for the skills development element on its B-BBEE scorecard.
What guidelines can a generic entity in the financial sector use when spending on the Skills Development Element?
A generic measured entity (an entity with a turnover exceeding R50 Million) is required to spend on every occupational level within the company.
The target for each occupational level is based on a percentage of the payroll for that specific level i.e. Senior Management targets are based on the total payroll for all Senior Management in the measured entity. The same will apply to Middle Management and Junior Management.
Where a measured entity does not have any employees in a particular management category, the weightings of the indicator which has no employees must be distributed amongst the remaining categories of Senior, Middle or Junior Management.
The measured entity is also required to spend on unemployed and disabled people. The targets for these indicators are based on the overall payroll of the measured entity.
A measured entity must achieve a minimum of 40% of the total weighting points in the skills development element. Non-compliance with the threshold will result in one level’s overall B-BBEE level being discounted.
It is clear from the information above that the skills development element on the B-BBEE scorecard for the Financial Sector is technical and that professional advice and guidance are required to ensure that the measured entity spends the correct amounts on each category.
Need assistance with B-BBEE? Contact your SEESA B-BBEE Legal Advisor. Alternatively, leave your details on our website, and a SEESA representative will contact you.
About The Author:
Shane Meyer is a B-BBEE Legal Advisor at the SEESA Cape Town branch. He is an admitted attorney who completed his LLB degree at the University of Western Cape.
Resources:
- Amended Financial Services Sector Code 2017