All organs of State need to comply and submit their Employment Equity (EE) reports, this is irrespective of the number of employees they employ, said Department of Employment and Labour EE Directorate Practitioner, Christina Lehlokoa.

The Employment Equity (EE) Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2022 that came into operation on 1 January 2025 stipulates that non-designated employers, those employing below 50 employees are no longer expected to submit their EE Reports in terms of legislation. The objective of excluding employers below 50 is intended to allow the growth of small businesses and enable them to focus on job creation instead of administrative burden(s).  

Lehlokoa said non-designated employees who wish to report will still have the option to do so. 

She was today (18 June) presenting on practical demonstration of how to utilize the enhanced EE System online facilities to capture EE reports and request an EE Certificate of Compliance – during an EE workshop held at Goldfields Casino and Conference Centre in Welkom.

“For employers, it is important to choose the correct industry/sector of operation, so that information matches. It is also important to highlight to employers, that once they have chosen the industry of operation they are locked for five years unless there are extenuating circumstances," she said.

Lehlokoa reminded the stakeholders that the EE reporting season will continue to annually open on 1 September for both manual and online reporting. In terms of reporting time frames the manual reporting will close in October and the online reporting closes on 15 January.

The EE workshop held today is part of a national roadshow held under the theme: “Bridging the Equity Gap Through Diversity & Inclusion". 

The Department of Employment and Labour is running the EE workshops in partnership with the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) and the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The national workshops/roadshows are part of an advocacy campaign to engage with various stakeholders in the labour market on the implementation of the new legislation and its regulations.

Delivering a presentation on EE General Administrative Regulations and Sector Targets 2025, Department of Employment and Labour, Deputy Director of EE, Masilo Lefika said when developing the Employment Equity plans the employers must comply with the numerical targets set in terms of section 15A (3) for the economic sector in which they operate.

Lefika reminded stakeholders during the workshop that designated employers who commence operations, or become designated employers, from 1 April 2025, must prepare an EE Plan for the remainder of the period until 31 August 2030.

“Section 15 protects the non-designated groups. There is no law that calls for the replacement of any race groups to redress past injustices in the workplace. Any injustice is protected by the Labour Relations Act," said Lefika.

“EE is bout diversity and inclusivity," he said. He further said that while there is no EAP for people with disabilities for now, employers would have to look at their workforce profile to effect transformation for the group.

The classification of national economic sectors for the purposes of the EE Act are as follows: Accommodation and Food Service Activities; Administrative and Support Activities; Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing; Arts, Entertainment and Recreation; Construction; Education; Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply; Financial and Insurance Activities; Human Health and Social Work Activities; Information and Communication; Manufacturing; Mining and Quarrying; Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities; Public Administration and Defence, Compulsory Social Security; Real Estate Activities; Transportation and Storage; Water Supply, Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities; Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles.

The Department of Employment and Labour is conducting the EE workshops in partnership with the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) and the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The national workshops/roadshows are part of an advocacy campaign to engage with various stakeholders in the labour market on the implementation of the new legislation and its regulations.

The 2025 EE workshops focus on:

·     How to implement the EE Amendments contained in the EE Amendment Act, 2022, and its EE Regulations?

·     Five-year Sector EE targets for 18 economic sectors.

·     Practical demonstration of how to utilise the EE system online facilities to capture EE reports and request EE Certificate of Compliance; and

·     Presentation on discrimination disputes referred to the CCMA and the various Courts, in particular, harassment cases, including dispute resolution mechanisms in terms of the EEA.  

The EE workshops are targeted at Employers or Heads of organisations, employees and trade unions, Assigned Senior EE Managers, Consultative EE forum members, Human Resource Managers, and Practitioners, Academics, Civil society, and interested stakeholders.

These are held from 09:00 to 14:00 in the respective venues and members of the media are invited.

The next EE workshop will be held on Thursday (19 June) at Kopano Nokeng Lodge in Bloemfontein. The curtain will fall next week when four EE workshops are held simultaneously in the Western Cape (George 24 June 2025; Cape Town 25 June 20205; and Limpopo Province (Thohoyandou 24 June 2025; Polokwane 25 June 2025).

For media inquiries, please contact:

Teboho Thejane

Departmental Spokesperson

082 697 0694/ teboho.thejane@labour.gov.za

-ENDS-

Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour

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