Earlier this month, the Department of Employment and Labour held virtual consultation meetings on the new draft numerical sector targets with stakeholders in 18 sectors. In terms of section 15A(2) of the amended Employment Equity Act, 1998 (EEA), read together with section 15A(4) of the EEA, the Minister must consult the relevant sectors prior to the publication of draft sector targets in the Government Gazette for public comment.

The purpose of the meetings was to discuss the proposed sector numerical targets for the relevant sector before publishing the final sector targets for implementation. When invitations were received by stakeholders during December 2024, it was not clear whether the DoEL intended to engage with the sectors on the previous draft targets published in 2023 and 2024 (the 2023 and 2024 Draft Sector Targets) or whether new targets would be presented. This is because very little information accompanied the invitation. During the virtual meetings, it became clear that the DoEL was purportedly consulting on the new 2025 Draft Sector Targets (2025 Draft Sector Targets).

As with the 2024 Draft Sector Targets, the 2025 Draft Sector Targets are set for “designated groups”, broken down by gender, but there are no specific targets per racial group. The figures are, however, markedly different from the 2023 and 2024 Draft Sector Targets and in many instances are significantly increased.

The DoEL explained during the virtual meetings that the rationale for the change in draft targets was due to various sectors comparing well and exceeding the 2024 Draft Sector Targets in the last reporting period.

It appears that the DoEL set new draft sector targets based on the latest workforce profile statistics of various sectors, as reflected in the 2024 EEA reports, and apparently took into account increases in representivity of a particular sector between the 2023 and 2024 reporting periods. With this information, the DoEL adjusted the latest workforce profile statistics upward by up to 8% in certain sectors. When considered over the five-year period, the result, depending on the sector and occupational level, is an increased representativity of designated groups per level of between 1% and 1.6% year-on-year.

Further, the DoEL has proposed to decrease the workforce profile of certain designated groups (such as women) if the workforce profile as it currently stands is in excess of the economically active population (EAP) for such sector.

Additionally, disability targets have been raised to 3%, with this increase expected to apply across all sectors. The DoEL stated during the virtual meetings that there is no statistical information on the disabled economically active population and urged stakeholders to conduct their own internal assessments on areas where persons with disabilities could be reasonably accommodated in the workplace and to work with universities on the pool of suitably qualified disabled persons in a particular industry.

It explained that the reasoning for the proposed increased representivity of disabled persons in the workplace was due to a lack of progress by designated employers in ensuring increased representivity. It was, however, not clear to stakeholders why the DoEL’s previous proposals of 2% representivity of disabled persons in the workplace increased to a proposed 3%. The 2025 Draft Sector Targets do not appear on the DoEL website, nor have they been published in the Government Gazette for public comment.

During the meeting, the DoEL shared the following proposed timeline:

February 28, 2025: Sector stakeholder ’consultations’ on the final sector targets will be conducted and finalised.

March 31, 2025: Two sets of regulations, which will include the General Administrative Regulations (dealing with the various employment equity reporting forms, employment equity plan templates, enforcement tools, and certificate of compliance template) and the regulations on the five-year sector targets, will be published.

April 2025: Internal training and capacity building of employment equity labour inspectors will take place on the EEA amendments and regulations, including the online system.

May – June 2025: National employment equity workshops and roadshows with stakeholders will be conducted to raise awareness and to train stakeholders on the implementation of the EEA amendments, how to utilise the online system to capture employment equity reports and the process to request a certificate of compliance.

April – August 2025: Designated employers should embark on the process of conducting their workplace analyses and developing new employment equity plans to align with the published five-year sector targets.

September 1, 2025: The employment equity reporting system will be opened until 15 January 2026, during which designated employers will submit their ‘base’ employment equity reports (EEA2 and EEA4 forms) and employers may be issued with their first certificates of compliance for purposes of section 53 of the EEA.

September 1, 2026 to January 15,2027: The first assessment of annual sector targets towards the achievement of the five-year sector targets will be considered against the 2026 employment equity reporting period.

It is not clear whether the regulations that are proposed to be published at the end of March 2025 will be in draft form, inviting the public to comment. During the virtual consultations and when asked whether the draft targets would be published for comment, as contemplated in section 15A(2) and (4) of the EEA, the DoEL indicated that it ’would comply with its interpretation of the law.’

If the DoEL complies with the multi-stage process contemplated in section 15A of the EEA, what ought to take place following the ’consultation’ process is the publication of draft sectoral targets in the Government Gazette, allowing for public comment for a period of at least 30 days.

The DoEL also indicated during the virtual sessions that designated employers would be expected to prepare new employment equity plans effective from 1 September 2025 so that the annual targets set by designated employers align across the sector for purposes of considering compliance.

The sequence of events contemplated in section 15A of the EEA is as follows:

Identification of the proposed national economic sectors, and publication in the Government Gazette for public comment, allowing interested parties at least 30 days to comment;

Consultation with the relevant sectors;

Publication of draft targets in the Government Gazette for public comment, allowing interested parties at least 30 days to comment; and

After taking the advice of the Commission for Employment Equity, publication of the final sector targets.

Now that the amendments have come into effect and the Minister of Employment and Labour is empowered to act in terms of section 15A, the DoEL should arguably first identify the proposed national economic sectors for public comment.

This is particularly relevant given that certain sectors have been combined, despite significant differences in workforce profiles. Moreover, setting targets for the top four occupational levels based on a single identified sector will fail to capture the distinct nuances and complexities of each individual sector within the broader classification. During stakeholder engagement sessions, the DoEL indicated that the 18 sectors identified had already been agreed at Nedlac.

The DoEL provided stakeholders with an opportunity to make written representations on the 2025 Draft Sector Targets after the virtual meeting but only provided up to five working days in some sectors to submit such representations, and in other sectors provided up to nine working days. The deadline provided by the DoEL for sectors to submit written representations was Friday, February 21, 2025.

Various industry bodies have requested the DoEL to provide stakeholders with a reasonable opportunity to consider and respond to the 2025 Draft Sector Targets, particularly given that in many cases, the proposed targets were not shared before the meetings. Such engagements should take place within the multi-stage process contemplated in section 15A of the EEA.

It goes without saying that meaningful consultation only takes place when representations are genuinely and seriously considered and feedback regarding those representations is provided.

Melissa Cogger is a partner at Bowmans.

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