South Africa
EEA compliance, made simple
16 yes/no questions on the Employment Equity Act: protection from unfair discrimination, whether you are a designated employer, your employment equity plan, the yearly report and sectoral targets. You get a score for each area and a list of gaps with what to do about each one.
ComplianceDesk gives you 10 pre-built EEA controls, an evidence vault, audit-ready reports, and reminders before anything falls overdue — so proving EEA compliance stops being a spreadsheet exercise.
Take the free self-assessment: a score for each area and a list of gaps to close.
What is EEA?
16 yes/no questions on the Employment Equity Act: protection from unfair discrimination, whether you are a designated employer, your employment equity plan, the yearly report and sectoral targets. You get a score for each area and a list of gaps with what to do about each one.
- Official name
- EEA Self-Assessment (Employment Equity)
- Status
- In force. Shown as in force as we understand it. Check the current text with the regulator or an attorney, since provisions can be amended or commence at different times.
Who it applies to
- Whether it applies to you depends on your size, activities and licences. Use the free "Which laws apply to me?" checker, or read the first section of the self-assessment.
- These rules apply to every employer, whatever its size.
What you have to do
Unfair discrimination and equal pay
A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Do you avoid unfair discrimination in any employment policy or practice, such as recruitment, pay, promotion, training, dismissal and benefits, on grounds such as race, gender, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, HIV status, conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language or birth? Do you treat equal work and work of equal value equally in pay and benefits, and can you explain any difference by a fair reason? Do you have a way to receive and deal with complaints of discrimination and harassment, and do you act on them? Do you display a summary of the Act where employees can see it, and give them a copy if they ask? Do you hold medical, psychological or similar tests, or ask about HIV status, only where the law allows?
Are you a designated employer?
A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Do you know whether you are a designated employer, meaning 50 or more employees (or, where the Act provides, a lower headcount with turnover above the sector threshold)? If you are a designated employer, do you know that the affirmative action duties apply to you, and have you planned for them?
Plan, consultation and affirmative action
A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Do you consult employees (through a representative union and a representative forum of employees) before you prepare the plan and the report? Do you analyse your workforce, policies and practices to find barriers to equity, and the groups that are under-represented? Do you have a current employment equity plan, covering the period set by the regulations (for plans started in 2025, to 31 August 2030), with numerical goals and timetables? Does your plan take account of the national sectoral targets for your sector, and the permitted reasons if you cannot meet them? Do you take affirmative action measures such as identifying and removing barriers, promoting diversity, making reasonable accommodation, retaining and developing designated groups, and training? Do you have a senior manager responsible for employment equity, with the authority and resources to carry out the plan?
Reporting and certificates
A business should be able to show that it can answer yes to these: Do you submit your employment equity report to the Department of Employment and Labour through its online portal every year in the reporting window (reported as 1 September to 15 January)? Do you display or provide a summary of your report where employees can see it? Do you apply for an employment equity compliance certificate when you tender for state contracts, and keep it current?
How to comply, step by step
- Unfair discrimination and equal pay. Review your policies and recent decisions for bias, and give managers short training on equality. Compare pay across people doing the same or similar work, and document the reason for any gap, such as experience or performance. Adopt a harassment policy, publish a complaints route, and investigate each complaint fairly. Put the summary of the Act on a noticeboard or the intranet, in the languages your staff understand. Remove testing from your recruitment process unless it is permitted by law or justified by the job.
- Are you a designated employer?. Count your employees, check your turnover against the sector threshold, and record the decision. If you become designated, tell the right people and start your plan. Appoint a senior manager to take responsibility for employment equity. Answer Not applicable if you are not a designated employer.
- Plan, consultation and affirmative action. Set up an employment equity consultative forum that represents all categories of staff, meet regularly, and keep minutes. Do a yearly workforce profile by occupational level, race, gender and disability, and list the barriers you find. Write or update the plan with measurable goals for each occupational level, and the actions to achieve them. Find your sector's targets, compare your profile, and record the reasons and steps for any shortfall. Put the measures in your plan with owners and dates, and report progress each year. Appoint the manager in writing and record their duties.
- Reporting and certificates. Put the window in your compliance calendar, prepare the workforce data in advance, and keep the submission receipt. Publish a summary of the report internally after submission. Request the certificate before you bid, since it takes time. Answer Not applicable if you do not tender for state work.
Sources and review status
Compiled from the public sources below. It is not legal advice and has not been reviewed by a lawyer. Last researched 2026-11-01. This is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, so check the current text and the regulator's notices before relying on it.
- Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (gov.za)
- Update on sectoral targets under the Employment Equity Act amendments (Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr)
- Employment equity sectoral targets and the 2025 Regulations (CMS)
- Unpacking the final employment equity sector targets (Bowmans)
- 2025 Employment Equity reporting deadline: 15 January 2026 (Acts Online)
- New employment equity regulations raise the stakes for employers (Moonstone)
Every EEA control, organised for you
The real control library ComplianceDesk seeds the moment you activate EEA — 10 controls across 4 categories.
Workforce Analysis & EE Plan
- EEA-1.1 Workforce profile analysis conducted
- EEA-1.2 Employment equity plan developed
- EEA-1.3 EE consultative committee established
Reporting & Compliance
- EEA-2.1 Annual EE report (EEA2) submitted
- EEA-2.2 Income differential statement (EEA4) submitted
Affirmative Action Measures
- EEA-3.1 Affirmative action measures implemented
- EEA-3.2 Reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities
- EEA-3.3 EE plan aligned with sector-specific numerical targets
Income Differentials & Unfair Discrimination
- EEA-4.1 Unfair discrimination grievance process
- EEA-4.2 Equal pay for equal work review
Frequently asked questions
How can I check where my business stands on EEA Self-Assessment (Employment Equity)?
Take the free self-assessment. It scores each area, lists your gaps with what to do about each one, and does not say you are compliant. You can save the result to ComplianceDesk to turn each gap into a task with an owner and a due date.
Is this guide written by a lawyer?
No. It was assembled from the public sources listed below and has not been reviewed by a lawyer. Treat it as a starting point and check the current law before relying on it.
How many controls does ComplianceDesk track for EEA?
10, organised into 4 categories, ready to assign to an owner as soon as you activate the framework.
Can I track EEA alongside other frameworks?
Yes — most teams activate several frameworks at once. Controls that overlap across frameworks can share the same evidence, so you don't collect the same document twice.
How long does it take to set up EEA in ComplianceDesk?
Activating EEA instantly seeds its full control library. Most teams assign owners and get their first controls moving within a day.
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