GRADE 12 TERM 3 NOTES CHAPTER 14
BUSINESS STUDIES
GRADE 12
PAPER 2
TERM 3
CHAPTER 14
HUMAN RIGHTS, INCLUSIVITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
REVISED NOTES
2025
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TOPICS PAGES
Exam guidelines for human rights, inclusivity and 2
environmental Issues
Terms and definitions 3
Human rights & dealing with human rights in the workplace 4-5
Economic rights of employees in the workplace 5
Social rights and ways businesses can promote social 5
rights in the workplace
Ways to promote cultural rights in the workplace 5
Implications of equality, respect and dignity on businesses 6
Meaning of diversity 6
Diversity issues in the workplace 6
Ways in which businesses can deal with diversity in the 6-8
workplace
Benefits of diversity in the workplace 8
The responsibilities of employers in promoting human 9
health and safety in the workplace
Roles of Health and Safety Representatives in protecting 9
the workplace environment
The responsibility of workers in promoting human health 9
and safety in the workplace
Strategies businesses may use to protect the environment 10
and human health.
This chapter consists of 10 pages
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GRADE 12 TERM 3 NOTES CHAPTER 14
CONTENT DETAILS FOR TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT PURPOSES
Learners must be able to:
HUMAN, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
Outline/Name the following human rights in the workplace:
o Privacy
o Dignity
o Equity
o Freedom of speech and expression
o Information
o Safety, security and protection of life
Identify the above-mentioned human rights from given scenarios /statements.
Recommend ways in which businesses could deal with the above-mentioned human
rights in the workplace.
Outline/Mention the economic rights of employees in the workplace.
Outline/Mention the social rights of employees in the workplace.
Recommend ways in which businesses could promote social rights and cultural rights in
the workplace.
Explain the implication of equality, respect and dignity on businesses.
DIVERSITY
Define/Elaborate on the meaning of diversity in the workplace.
Identify/Name the following diversity issues from given scenarios/statements:
o Poverty, race
o Gender, language, age,
o Culture/religion and
o Disability.
Recommend/Suggest ways in which businesses could deal with the above-mentioned
diversity issues in the workplace.
Discuss the benefits of diversity in the workplace.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
Explain the responsibilities of employers in promoting human health and safety in the
workplace.
Outline/Explain/Discuss the roles of the health and safety representatives in protecting
the workplace environment, e.g. checking on the effectiveness of health and safety
measures/identifying potential dangers in the work environment/ investigating workers’
complaints, etc.
Identify the roles of health and safety representatives from given scenarios.
Explain the responsibilities of workers/employees in promoting human health and safety
in the workplace.
Identify the responsibilities of employers and employees/workers in promoting human
health and safety in the workplace from given scenarios.
Recommend/Suggest strategies businesses may use to protect the environment and
human health.
Assess a business venture on human rights, inclusivity, and environmental issues, using
informal surveys, interviews, etc.
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GRADE 12 TERM 3 NOTES CHAPTER 14
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
TERM DEFINITION
Human rights The rights of all human beings irrespective of their
gender/race/nationality or any other status.
Rights that everyone must enjoy by mere fact that they are human
beings
the basic rights that everyone has because they are human beings,
Inclusivity irrespective
Means that noof their gender/race/nationality
one should or anyofother
be excluded because their status.
gender/age/race/ language/disability.
Environmental Relate to preserving a clean/safe/sustainable environment.
issues
Diversity It means the workforce must include groups of a variety of people
who are different in race/gender, class etc.
Poverty Being unable to satisfy basic needs due to lack of income to buy
Inequality goods/service
Unfair differences between groups of people in society/When some
have access to more wealth/status/opportunities than others.
Race Classification of people according to their physical differences e.g.
colour of their skin.
Gender Refers to being male or female.
Disability A physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements,
senses, or activities.
Religion A belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power,
especially a personal God.
Age The length of time that a person has lived or a thing has existed.
Culture The ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or
society.
Equality The fact of being equal in rights, status, advantages etc.
fair employment practice, without any discrimination. Everyone is
entitled to equal rights, status, advantages, etc.
Respect A polite behaviour towards or care for somebody/something that you
think is important.
Dignity A calm and serious manner that deserves respect.
when you treat a person with respect.
Economic rights The rights each person has to be economically active.
the rights each person must have in order to be economically
active and treated according to certain laws and regulations.
Social rights Right to welfare benefits.
Cultural rights A right to participate in cultural activities and events of your choice.
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GRADE 12 TERM 3 NOTES CHAPTER 14
1 HUMAN, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
1.1 HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE WORKPLACE
The following human rights are applicable in the workplace:
Privacy
Dignity
Equity
Freedom of speech and expression
Information
Safety, security and protection of life.
1.1.1 Ways in which businesses could deal with the above-
mentioned human rights in the workplace
Privacy
Business must respect the rights of employees and clients and must not violet
it.
They should not provide personal information about employees to anyone
else.
Personal information about employees or customers must be kept confidential
and should not be given to anyone else.
The business must keep any information on the HIV/AIDS status or chronic
illnesses of its employees confidential.
It is illegal to read other people’s emails or record any conversations unless
stated clearly and upfront.
Dignity
Businesses must value their employees regardless of their socio-economic
status and treat all employees with respect and dignity.
Workers should not be forced to do embarrassing or degrading work.
The way in which the business communicates should also display respect and
dignity towards the employees and customers.
Equity
Businesses must not discriminate against their employees based on gender,
race, religion, sexual orientation, etc., but give equal opportunities
to them.
The business must ensure that its workers receive equal pay for work of equal
value.
They should apply relevant legislation fairly on all levels of management, for
example, with new appointments they must adhere to the regulations of the
EEA.
Managers should ensure that no employee suffers because of discrimination,
for example, paternity leave was implemented to give equal rights to fathers.
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Freedom of speech and expression
Businesses should allow open communication channels between
management and employees, for example, they can implement a box for
grievances from the employees.
Businesses should give employees a platform to raise their grievances
without any victimisation by appointing workplace representatives.
The employee has the right to express his/her opinion and should not be
punished or discriminated against for voicing their opinion.
Information
Workers should have access to information that concerns them including all
information held by the government, for example, policies, work schedules,
employment contracts, labour laws such as the BCEA/EEA/SDA, etc.
• Business needs to be transparent in their financial statements by allowing
employees who request to see these statements with motivation.
When new information becomes available, the business should inform
employees about it.
Employees must receive information on the CSI projects of the business and
how they will affect them.
Safety, security and protection of life
Businesses should provide workers with protective clothing, for example,
gloves and footwear.
Businesses must comply with the regulations such as the OHSA/COIDA, and
etc., regarding the safety and health of their employees
Employees should work in a safe working environment free from hazardous
products/areas.
Employers should take precautionary measures to ensure employees and
their belongings are safe in the workplace.
1.2 The economic rights of employees in the workplace
Economic rights of workers include the following:
Freedom from forced labour
Free to accept or choose work
Join/Form trade unions
Right to participate in a legal strike
Fair wages and equal pay for equal work.
The right to leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours.
Safe and healthy working conditions
1.3 THE SOCIAL RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES IN THE WORKPLACE
The following social rights are applicable to the workplace:
Clean water
Education
Protection
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Health care
1.3.1 Ways in which businesses could promote social rights
The businesses should ensure that employees have access to clean water
and social security.
Businesses can health care services by establishing site clinics to give
employees access to basic medical examinations.
Encourage employees/ Provide opportunities for employees to attend skills
training sessions and with adult basic education.
The business can encourage employees to participate in special events, e.g.
World Aids day.
Register workers with UIF to provide adequate protection in the event of
unemployment/illness.
1.4 Cultural rights
Ways to promote cultural rights in the workplace
The business must respect the right of workers to participate in the cultural
life of their choice.
They must provide an environment in which employees are free to use their
language when interacting with others during their free time.
To help employees respect each other, the business can hold regular cultural
information sessions in the workplace.
Different cultures can be accommodated by providing different food in the
canteen as well as staff functions.
According to the EEA, the business must employ people from various
cultural backgrounds.
The business must train employees to tolerate other cultures in the workplace.
Encourage employees to participate in cultural activities.
Allow employees to provide solutions to challenges from their own cultural
perspective.
1.5 Implications of equality, respect and dignity businesses
Employees must be treated equally, regardless of their race, colour, age,
gender, disability, and so on.
Workers should be treated with respect and dignity by recognising work well
done.
Equal access to opportunities, positions, and resources must be available to
all employees.
Legislation concerning equal opportunities and human rights in the workplace
must be implemented by employers and employees.
Businesses should develop equity programmes that promote strategies to
ensure that all employees are treated equally regardless of status, rank, or
power.
The mission statement of the business should include values of equality and
respect.
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Businesses should include issues such as diversity, discrimination, and
harassment in their training, information, or business policies.
Incidents of discrimination must be reported, and employers should respond
swiftly and fairly to these issue in the workplace.
Employers must ensure that the workplace environment is safe, fair, and free
from embarrassment.
Employers must give orders or tasks respectfully and if appropriate, allow the
employees to have a say in the way the task should be performed .
2 Diversity in the workplace
2.1 The meaning of diversity in the workplace
Diversity means that people are different in terms of races, gender, age,
culture, religion and background etc.
Businesses employ people from different cultural backgrounds.
2.2 Diversity issues in the workplace
The following diversity issues are applicable to the workplace:
Poverty
Race
Gender
Language
Age
Culture/Religion
Disability
2.3 Ways in which businesses could deal with the above-
mentioned diversity issues in the workplace
Poverty
Businesses should employ people from different socio-economic
backgrounds/ status.
The business must reward employees for services that were rendered well
and provide for their basic needs.
The business should offer subsidised meals or canteen facilities on the
premises for their employees.
Free uniforms or personal protective clothing should be supplied to all
employees to ensure their safety in the workplace.
Train all employees so that they can be able to deal with retrenchment.
Train some unemployed people from local communities as part of a
business's CSI projects
Give previously disadvantaged individuals a chance to be educated by
incorporating Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) into training
programmes of the business.
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Businesses must ensure that the prices of products are affordable for their
identified consumer market.
Sponsor learnerships for unemployed people/use grants received from SETAs
to train more unemployed people from local communities.
Race
Businesses must implement affirmative action policies as required by EEA
and other laws.
There should be no discrimination in the workplace based on skin colour.
Businesses should comply with the EEA and BBBEE Act when appointing
people.
Businesses should ensure that the workplace is diverse by employing people
from different race groups.
Previously disadvantaged people should get preferential treatment when new
appointments need to be made.
Gender
The business should offer equal employment opportunities to males and
females.
Both men and women should have the opportunity to be promoted to
managerial positions.
Women should be employed to comply with EEA.
The business must set targets for gender equity in the business as well as the
implementation thereof.
New appointments should be based on skills and ability, despite the gender
of the person.
The business should introduce affirmative action by ensuring that male and
female employees are remunerated fairly and equally.
Language
The business must provide training to the employees in the official language of the business.
No worker should feel excluded in meetings conducted in one language only.
The business must employ an interpreter to enable everyone to understand what is being said
in a meeting.
All business contracts should be in an easy-to-understand language and should be available in
the language of choice for the relevant parties signing the contract.
Business may specify that all communications should be in one specific language only and
would expect employees to have a certain level of fluency in that language.
At business meetings, no employee should feel excluded because they do not understand the
language that is used.
Age
A business may not employ children aged 15 or younger
The ages of permanent workers should vary from 18 to 65 to include all age
groups.
Young employees must be advised to respect and learn from older
employees.
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Businesses must encourage older employees to help young employees to
develop their potential.
Promotions should not be linked to age, but rather to a specific set of skills.
A business may employ a person who is older than the normal retirement age,
provided that person is the most suitable candidate.
The business should encourage employees to be sensitive to different
perspectives of various age groups.
Culture/Religion
Cater for special food and preparation methods in the workers' canteen.
Businesses should acknowledge and respect cultural differences of
employees.
The business may not discriminate against employees on the grounds of their
cultural background.
Business must not force employees to do work that could be against their
religion
Business must be sensitive to special requests from different cultural groups,
e.g. allow day(s) off for cultural holidays/festivals.
Nobody must be forced to do work that could be against their religion.
Disability/Physically challenged/People living with disability
Businesses should employ people who are physically challenged in jobs that
they can handle.
The facilities in the business should make provision for people who are
physically challenged, for example, by providing ramps for wheelchairs or
toilet facilities that can accommodate people who are physically challenged,
and so on.
Businesses must ensure that workers with special needs are not marginalised
or feel excluded from workplace activities.
Businesses should be well-informed on how to deal with disabled employees.
The policies and programs of the business should accommodate the needs of
people with disabilities.
Businesses must create an organisational culture or a climate that is
conducive
for people with disabilities.
Businesses should train their employees on how to deal with colleagues who
have any form of disability.
Businesses can make use of external experts who can advise them on how to
deal with disability and accommodation issues.
The business should not discriminate against employees who have
disabilities, nor should they treat them fairly.
The business must focus on the skills and work performance of the disabled
worker, rather than his/her disability and possible problems he/she may pose
in the future.
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2.4 Benefits of diversity in the workplace
Workforce diversity improves the ability of businesses to solve problems/
innovate/cultivate diverse markets.
Employee's value each other's diversity and learn to connect/communicate
across lines of difference.
Diversity in the workforce improves morale/motivation.
Employees demonstrate greater loyalty to businesses because they feel
respected/accepted/understood.
Diversified workforce can give businesses a competitive advantage, as they
can render better services.
Being respectful of differences/demonstrating diversity makes good business
sense/improves profitability.
Diverse businesses ensure that their policies/practices empower every
employee to perform at his/her full potential.
Stakeholders increasingly evaluate businesses on how they manage diversity
in the workplace.
Employees from different backgrounds can bring different perspectives to
businesses.
A diversified workforce stimulates debate on new/improved ways of getting
things done.
Employees represent various groups and are therefore better able to
recognise customer needs/satisfy consumers.
Businesses with a diverse workforce are more likely to have a good public
image and attract more customers.
3 Environmental issues
3.1 Responsibilities of employers in promoting human health and
safety in the workplace
Provide and maintain all the equipment that is necessary to perform the work.
Equipment must be used under the supervision of a designated trained
worker
Keep the systems to ensure that there will be no harmful impact on the health
and safety of workers.
Employers must carefully monitor the production, processing, storage,
transportation of materials or equipment to ensure that the workers’ health is
not compromised by hazardous substances.
Reduce/Remove dangers to workers and provide personal protective clothing
Employers must know where potential dangers might be and take measures
to eliminate or limit the harm
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Ensure that the workers’ health is not damaged by hazards resulting from
production /processing/storage/transportation of materials or equipment
Workers must be informed /instructed/and supervised to limit potential
dangers to them/Emergency exit door signs should be visible to all employees
Comply with safety laws which seek to promote a healthy working
environment
3.2 Roles of health and safety representatives in protecting the
workplace environment
They need to ensure that the correct personal protective clothing is provided
and available to all workers, and that the workers are always wearing it.
They must identify potential dangers in the workplace, for example, a loose
railing at a staircase.
Promote and review safety measures in the workplace.
They must liaise with management to check and monitor the effectiveness of
health and safety measures.
They must ensure that all workers receive the correct equipment they need in
order to perform their work, and that the equipment is regularly maintained.
They must ensure that the business provides the necessary safety training to
all employees so that any potential dangers in the workplace can be avoided.
They must ensure that dangerous equipment is used under the supervision of
trained and qualified workers.
They must monitor the production, processing, storage, and transportation
of materials/equipment to ensure that the workers’ health and safety are not
endangered by any hazardous materials/equipment.
They must ensure that employers comply with COIDA, for example, reporting
accidents that may have occurred in the workplace.
NOTE: (Health and Safety Representatives are elected by co-workers to act on
their behalf in resolving health and safety issues in the workplace.)
3.3 Responsibility of workers in promoting human health and
safety in the workplace
Workers must be aware that they should take care of their health and safety
in the workplace.
Workers must always comply with the rules and procedures of the business,
for example, they should always wear the prescribed safety clothing such as
hard hats, safety shoes, and gloves.
If there are unsafe or unhealthy working conditions, they must report it to the
relevant authorities or management.
Accidents must be reported to the relevant authorities immediately and the
prescribed paperwork must be completed.
Workers must take reasonable steps to ensure their safety and comply with
the rules and restrictions of the workplace.
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GRADE 12 TERM 3 NOTES CHAPTER 14
If they are aware of any illness that may affect their ability to work, they must
inform their employer timeously.
3.4 Strategies businesses may use to protect the environment
and human health.
Businesses must not generate profit at the expense of the environment,
but they must adhere to the relevant laws and regulations.
The business should be aware of their impact on pollution and other
environmental issues in order to minimise its impact, for example, businesses
should find safe ways of disposing of waste and/or dumping toxic waste, etc.
The business must also take steps to become involved in environmental
awareness programmes.
The business must alter its production techniques in favour of cleaner and
greener technologies to protect the environment.
According to the social rights of workers, the business must test the water in
the workplace to ensure that it is safe for human consumption.
The business must look after natural resources and promote nature
conservation.
The business must have a policy to minimise pollution and actively reuse,
recycle and reduce waste.
The business can reduce consumption of goods and services which are
environmentally unfriendly, for example, by investing in appropriate
technology like clean solar or wind power.
They must register or engage with recognised institutions or bodies that
promote green peace and green energy.
The physical working conditions in the workplace should always be worker-
friendly, safe and promote occupational health.
The business must evaluate the physical working conditions, to improve
human health, for example, by providing adequate lighting and ventilation to
ensure optimal and functional working conditions.
Servicing and maintaining all machines regularly in order to reduce accidents
in the workplace.
The business must educate workers about hygiene issues, for example,
washing of hands.
To improve the health of workers, the business must encourage employees to
do regular health check-ups, for example, checking their blood pressure and
temperature checks, and so on.
NOTE :( The focus should on “HOW/STRATEGIES” businesses should protect the
environment and promote human health)
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