The President of South Africa has issued a proclamation in terms of which the amendments to the Employment Equity Act, 1998 (EEA), which were signed into law in 2023, will come into effect on 1 January 2025.

The Department of Employment and Labour has published two sets of Employment Equity (EE) Regulations as of Tuesday, 15 April 2025, following the commencement of the Employment Equity Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2022, on 1 January 2025. The published Regulations include:

1. General Administrative Regulations.

These regulations provide standardised reporting forms (EEA2 and EEA4 forms); templates for EE Analysis (EEA12) and EE Plans (EEA13); enforcement tools; and templates for the EE Certificate of Compliance, including the intention to withdraw the EE Certificate of Compliance. These Regulations offer implementation guidelines to assist employers and employees in interpreting and applying the provisions of the EE Amendment Act of 2022, including streamlining compliance processes for designated and non-designated employers.

2. Regulations on Sector Numerical EE Targets.

These Regulations establish the actual five-year sector numerical EE targets for designated groups across eighteen economic sectors for the four upper occupational levels (i.e., Top Management, Senior Management, Professionally Qualified/Middle Management, and Skilled Technical/Junior Management), including for persons with disabilities.

The introduction of sector-specific numerical EE targets is a significant component of section 15A of the EE Amendment Act, 2022, which empowers the Minister to regulate EE targets for the identified eighteen (18) economic sectors.

Thus, the publication of these EE Regulations represents a pivotal step toward advancing transformation and inclusivity in the South African labour market. Employers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the new regulatory framework to ensure compliance and alignment with employment equity objectives. 

Summary:

• The definition of “designated employer” will change with effect from 1 January 2025. The amendments have the effect of removing the turnover threshold so that only employers with more than 50 employees will be regarded as “designated employers” for the purposes of the EEA. This means that employers with less than 50 employees will not need to comply with the affirmative action provisions in the EEA and will accordingly not need to have an employment equity plan in place and to submit employment equity reports on an annual basis. This amendment is intended to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses.
• The Minister of Employment and Labour (Minister) has been empowered to set sectoral numerical targets through regulations to ensure equitable representation of people from “designated groups” (e.g., African, Coloured and Indian people, women, and people with disabilities) at all occupational levels in the workplace. The numerical targets will differ across sectors and occupational levels.
• An amendment to section 20 of the EEA (employment equity plans) links the sectoral numerical targets prescribed by government to the numerical targets that must be set by a “designated employer” in its employment equity plan. This will be a significant change, as currently, an employer sets its own numerical targets based on the demographics of the country or province in which it operates and the pool of suitably qualified candidates in the different occupational levels within the business.
• Going forward, “designated employers” will only be able to obtain a certificate of compliance to do work for the government if they have met the applicable sectoral targets or have a reasonable ground for non-compliance and provided that there have been no complaints of unfair discrimination in relation to that employer.
• The definition of “people with disabilities” has been amended and will henceforth include people who have a long-term or recurring physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which, in interaction with various barriers, may substantially limit their prospects of entry into or advancement in employment.

Each “designated employer” will have to look at their EE Plan and draft a new one based on the sectors as soon as possible. This is not an easy task, so make sure that you get help if you need to.