The Department of Employment and Labour has warned designational employers that they have until Thursday, January 15 2026, to submit their annual Employment Equity (EE) Reports.
The midnight deadline marks the first year since the amendment to the EE Act became law.
The EE Act now requires designated employers to prepare and implement EE Plans for the period from September 1, 2025, to August 31, 2030.
The new law primarily applies to businesses that employ 50 or more people and aims to align with the country’s demographics at all levels.
To achieve this, the department has set out numerical targets for 18 industries in South Africa that businesses must fill with ‘designated employees’.
These designated employees include Black (African, Coloured, and Indian), female, and disabled workers.
Failure to file their EE reports could result in employers being fined up to R1.5 million or 2% of their turnover.
They may also have their Employment Equity Compliance Certificates withdrawn, which are necessary for government contracts.
The Employment Equity Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2022, became operational from January 1 2025, with two sets of regulations published since then.
These regulations provide employers and employees with guidelines on how to interpret and implement the EE amendments and sector-specific EE targets.
In terms of the act, designated employers will be assessed against their own annual targets set towards meeting the relevant 5-year sectoral numerical targets.
The department said that the key objectives and implications of the EE Amendment Act are:
- To empower the Minister Nomakhosazana Meth to regulate sector-specific EE numerical targets to ensure the equitable representation of suitably qualified people from the designated groups;
- To promulgate section 53 of the EEA for the issuing of the EE Compliance Certificate as a prerequisite for access to state contracts and doing business with any organ of state; and
- To reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses (i.e., those that employ 1 to 49 employees).
Under the EE Act, the reports submitted must contain the prescribed information and be signed by the CEO of the designated employer.
“The EE Act exists to promote equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination and the implementation of affirmative action measures,” said the department.
Reactions to the new EE laws have been mixed, with some viewing them as necessary to transform a highly unequal labour force, while others perceive them as a form of discrimination.
The Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Chamber previously stated that the new regulations and sector-specific numerical targets will speed up South Africa’s workforce transformation.
Frik Boonzaaier from the BEE Chamber notes that the flexibility offered to employers will help them find the space to adapt to the regulations over the coming years.
However, South Africa’s second-largest party, the DA, launched a constitutional challenge against the new laws, specifically against Section 15a of the act in 2025.
The party stated that the recent amendments are constitutionally invalid and constitute an abuse of state power.
“Section 15a violates Section 9 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law and prohibits unfair discrimination,” it said.
“A law that forces employers to fire or refuse to hire people based on race, whether they are black, coloured, Indian, or white, is not redress. It is unconstitutional discrimination.”
The DA’s case was heard in May 2025 in the Pretoria High Court, with a decision yet to be delivered.
Credit: Luke Fraser – Source: https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/847658/important-deadline-for-employers-in-south-africa-coming-this-week/