The Department of Employment and Labour is requesting designated employers to submit their annual Employment Equity (EE) Reports for the 2025 period by the target date on Thursday, 15 January 2026.

The midnight (twelve o’clock midnight) deadline marks the first year in the submission of EE Reports since the amendment of the EE Act that now requires designated employers to prepare and implement EE Plans for the period from 1 September 2025 until 31 August 2030.

The Employment Equity Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2022, became operational from 1 January 2025. Since then, two sets of EE Regulations on EE reporting forms and other EE templates, and the 5-year sector EE targets for the eighteen economic sectors were published on 15 April 2025 to provide guidelines to employers and employees on how to interpret and implement the EE amendments and sector EE targets.

In terms of the EE Amendment Act of 2022, designated employers will, for compliance purposes, be assessed against their own annual targets set towards meeting the relevant 5-year sectoral numerical targets.

The 5-year sectoral numerical targets are key milestones towards achieving the equitable representation of the different designated groups within the four upper occupational levels in an employer’s workforce in relation to the demographics of the applicable economically active population (EAP), and for persons with disabilities.

The key objectives and implications of the EE Amendment Act, 2022 are:

To empower the Minister to regulate sector-specific EE numerical targets in order 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).

In terms of the EE Act, it is important that the reports submitted must contain the prescribed information and must be signed by the Chief Executive Officer 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 to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups.

In terms of the EE Act, designated employers must submit their annual reports to the Director General. And this report must be signed by the chief executive officer.

Issued by the Department of Employment and Labour