EMPLOYMENT EQUITY COMPLIANCY

LATEST NEWS:  May2025

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Key Changes and the implications for Employers:

• Redefinition of a  “Designated Employer”:
  Companies with fewer than 50 employees will no longer  need to comply ( i.e have an employment equity plan and perform annual EE reporting.

• Five-Year Sectoral Targets:
  Targets have been set by government for each of the following occupational and skills levels : Top Management, Senior Management, Middle Management/Professionally Qualified, Junior Management/Skills Technical, and people with disabilities. Employers can still set targets for Semi-Skilled and Unskilled levels using a separate set of demographic targets. These targets must be met within a 5 year period by way of predetermined affirmative action strategies and meeting yearly targets.

• Certification of Compliance:
  Designated employers must obtain an annual compliance certificate to conduct business with the state, as stipulated in the amendments. Even non designated employers will need this on an annual basis

 

As a reminder, the most notable amendments include among others:

• The deletion of part of the definition of a ‘designated employer’. This will mean that, with effect from 1 January 2025 an employer (other than a municipality, organ of state or an employer appointed as a designated employer in terms of a collective agreement) will only be considered a designated employer for purposes of the affirmative action provisions of the EEA if it employs 50 or more employees. There will no longer be any consideration given to an employer’s total annual turnover.

• The amendment to the definition of ‘disabilities’. The amended definition is aligned with the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and is broader than the previous definition. It will include people with intellectual or sensory impairments which may substantially limit their entry into or advancement in employment.

• An amendment to psychological testing. The previous role of the Health Professions Council (HPC) in certifying psychological assessments will fall away. This amendment sought to address the capacity constraints of the HPC.

• Clarification on the consultation obligations with representative trade unions wherein a designated employer is only required to consult with the representative trade union and not the members of the representative trade union individually

• Annual reporting: The reference to 1 October has been removed in relation to the submission of the annual employment equity report, instead, the amendments contemplate that the report will be submitted in such manner as may be prescribed. Designated employers are no longer confined to submitting the notification before August in the same year, which has previously presented a number of practical difficulties for designated employers.

• The income differentials statement will no longer be submitted to the Employment Conditions Commission. Instead, the income differentials statement will be submitted to the National Minimum Wage Commission.

• The labour inspector’s powers are broadened. The amendment includes the power to request and obtain a written undertaking to comply with obligations including the failure to prepare an employment equity plan (which was not previously included), and to ‘serve’ compliance orders rather than to ‘issue’ such orders.

• Certificate of Compliance: The introduction of criteria to be met by an employer in order for a certificate of compliance to be issued by the DoEL. Such certificate will be required for employers to conclude agreements with the State.

• In terms of section 53, ‘every employer’ (designated or non-designated) that tenders with any organ of state  must, if it is a designated employer, comply with  the EEAct. 

• The employer’s offer should be accompanied by a certificate of compliance  issued by the Minister. In terms of the amendments, a compliance certificate may only be issued if the Minister is satisfied that:

  • the employer has complied with any sectoral numerical targets applicable to the employer, or has raised a reasonable ground justifying its failure to comply;

  • the employer has submitted its annual employment equity report;

  • there have been no findings by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) or a court that the employer breached the unfair discrimination provisions of the EEA in the previous 12 months; and

  • the CCMA has not issued an award against the employer in the previous 12 months for failing to pay the national minimum wage.

In the interim, please note that all designated employers are still required to submit their Employment Equity (EE) reports for the 2024 reporting period as per existing regulations.

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CONFUSED ? Give us a call and find out how we can assist in navigating this minefield. +27824939669  info@vitalconsulting.co.za