Employment of undocumented foreign nationals

Employment of undocumented foreign nationals

• 09 April 2024
• Regulatory Compliance and Legislation
• South African Accounting Academy

Employment and Labour’s Inspection and Enforcement Services unit has noted with concern the number of undocumented foreign nationals employed in the Wholesale and Retail sector. This was revealed during a three-day joint blitz inspection conducted in Rustenburg, North West Province.

During the blitz inspections, a total of 20 undocumented foreign nationals were arrested prompting the Department to immediately implement the Employment Services Act of the Department of Employment and Labour. This Act demands an employer to make sure that a person employed in South Africa from a foreign country should have the relevant work permit and a certain skill that is not found in the country.

The Provincial Chief Inspector for North West confirmed that, if employers are found to have contravened this Act, they will be fined and the employee will be arrested by the relevant authorities and be deported to their countries of origin.

“Once an employer is found to have contravened this Act we charge and fine them in monetary terms and from these blitzes we had fines amounting to R20 000 for the nine employers that were found to have employed foreign nationals”, he said.

Giving an overall report of the blitz, the Provincial Chief Inspector said a total of 54 notices (contravention, prohibition, and improvement) and 120 compliance orders were issued to non-complying employers. He further said that the common non-complying areas were mostly on the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), and Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA).

“These inspections have revealed that most employers are still underpaying their employees, they make illegal deductions and do not provide them with payslips and contracts of employment. Some employers did not comply with the general safety regulations, while others did not register with the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the Compensation Fund. These employers have since been issued with relevant notices and orders and are expected to rectify this within the stipulated time frames”.

Click here to access the full article:

https://www.labour.gov.za/employment-of-undocumented-foreign-nationals-is-an-offense-that-is-punishable-by-law

Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:

• Your clients must comply with the relevant employment laws and regulations, which you must assess compliance with.  If they don’t comply with the relevant laws and regulations, you have certain reporting obligations in terms of NOCLAR (NOn-Compliance with Laws And Regulations) – this could include reporting to management, qualifying your audit opinion, reporting a Reportable Irregularity, etc.
• As an auditor, independent reviewer and accountant, you need to consider the latest publications and media statements that are issued by the Department of Employment and Labour.
• As an employer, you also need to comply with relevant employment laws and regulations in your workplace.

Relevance to Your clients:

• An entity (company or close corporation) has a duty to comply with relevant employment laws and regulations, otherwise they could be held liable.

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