2025 Employment Equity amendments

The amended Employment Equity Regulations were promulgated on 15 April 2025 under Government Gazette No. 52515.

All employers will now follow a standard reporting cycle running from 1 September to 31 August each year. Employers must develop a five-year Employment Equity (EE) Plan (or a shorter plan, if applicable), with the first cycle ending on 31 August 2030. In addition, employers must also set annual numerical targets.

Deadlines and plans

Deadlines remain unchanged, but all designated employers must submit new EE Plans covering the period 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2030.
Employers must start their planning from scratch, both the five-year EE Plans and the one-year annual targets.

Submission periods

Manual submissions: 1 September to the first working day of October.
Electronic submissions: 1 September to 15 January of the following year.

Newly designated employers

Employers who become designated after 1 April 2025 must:
Prepare an EE Plan for the remaining period up to 31 August 2030.
Submit their report in the next reporting cycle.

 NOTE: Employers won’t be assessed for compliance with annual targets in their first submission after becoming a designated employer. 

Developing plans

Employers must consider

• Their current workforce profile
• The relevant five-year sectoral targets
• The applicable Economically Active Population (EAP)

They can also consider:

• Inherent job requirements
• Availability of suitably qualified candidates
• Qualifications, experience and potential to acquire skills
• Turnover and attrition rates
• Recruitment and promotion trends

5-Year Sectoral targets and compliance

Designated employers must:
Comply with the numerical targets set for their economic sector.
Refer to the EEA17 or the relevant government notice to determine their sector.
Apply the targets for the sector where the majority of their employees are engaged, if they operate in multiple sectors.

Annual targets and EAP considerations

When setting annual EE targets to meet the five-year sectoral goals, employers must:
Set targets for all designated groups in the four upper occupational levels, aligned with sector targets and Economically Active Population (EAP) data, and for persons with disabilities.
Set numerical goals and annual targets for semi-skilled and unskilled levels, considering the applicable EAP.
Designated employers will be assessed for compliance based on the annual targets they set to achieve the applicable five-year sectoral numerical goals.

Additional important information

Employers must record whether they’re using national or regional EAP for analysis.
EE Plans must be retained for five years after the expiry of the plan.
Employers may refer to EEA9 for guidance on occupational levels.
Employees may add information to their EEA1 (employee declaration).

Consult the Department of Employment and Labour for more information.