Abstract
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 provides everyone with the right to equality before the law as well as the right not to be unfairly discriminated against. In the context of the workplace, these rights are given effect to by various statutes which include the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA). This means that employers are prohibited from infringing the right to equality of their employees. However, there are many instances where employers disregard the law and infringe the rights of their employees – thereby unfairly discriminating against them based on disability, gender or religion. In order to protect their rights, employees can approach the CCMA, as well as the labour courts whenever they fall victim to unfair discrimination in the workplace. The courts will however require employees to provide proof of the discriminatory actions in the workplace. This dissertation is therefore concerned with the question of how burdensome it is for employees to prove infringement of the right to equality and unfair discrimination, based on disability, gender or religion, before the courts. Ultimately, the study concludes that employees face various challenges in proving the infringement of their rights before the courts. The study also provides recommendations in this regard.