Our summary of the basic guide to key topics about Unfair Discrimination within the labour legislation according to The South African Department of Labour.

The Department of Labour offers basic guides to key topics within labour legislation. Read on for our summary of Unfair Discrimination. Employers must remove unfair discrimination from their policies and practices. It is not unfair to discriminate when you apply affirmative action.

Who does Unfair Discrimination apply to?

The Employment Equity Act applies to all employers, workers and job applicants, but not members of the:
National Defense Force
National Intelligence Agency; and
South African Secret Service

The provisions for affirmative action apply to:
Employers with 50 or more workers, or whose annual income is more than the amount specified in Schedule 4 of the Act
municipalities
organs of State
employers ordered to comply by a bargaining council agreement
any employers who volunteer to comply

Policies and Practices:

Employers must remove unfair discrimination from all their policies and practices.
Based on Legislation in Section 5, of the Employment Equity Act

Definitions:

Nobody may discriminate against workers because of their - 
race
gender
sex
pregnancy
marital status
family responsibility
ethnic or social origin
colour
sexual orientation
age
disability
religion
HIV status
conscience
belief
political opinion
culture
language or
birth

When is Discrimination Not Unfair?

It is not unfair discrimination to:
apply affirmative action or
exclude or prefer people because of certain requirements of a job (e.g. to exclude blind workers from driving a bus).

Disputes:

Workers must refer disputes about unfair discrimination to the CCMA in writing within 6 months.

Source: South African Department of Labour