28 Sep 2012

Employment & Pension Law Department - The Protection of Personal Information Bill


The Protection of Personal Information Bill, 2009 ("the Bill")  will have significant implications for employers in terms of how they collect, store, disseminate and delete employee personal information.  Employee personal information includes information relating to race, gender, union membership, pregnancy, age, health, ID number, biometric information and even personal views or opinions.  The Bill aims to give effect to the Constitutional right to privacy and will confer certain rights on employees, as well as job seekers.

The Bill has been approved by the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development. It will be sent to the National Assembly and once passed it will be referred to the National Council of Provinces for consideration. It is anticipated that the Bill will be passed into law in a matter of months. Employers will have one year to get their house in order.

Author: Kate Staude, Associate Partner

Contact: +27(0)31 575 7211 and kstaude@wylie.co.za