What is an Employment Equity Compliance Certificate and do I need it?
Monday, 01 December 2025
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Posted by: Ernest Roper
 All designated employers with 50 or more employees, will have to meet a number of criteria to be issued with an annual Employment Equity (EE) Compliance Certificate to enable them to do business with the State.
Niresh Singh, Deputy Director of EE in the Department of Employment and Labour, recently reminded South Africans that the Compliance Certificate requirement to conduct business with state organs has long been in effect.
“All the provisions in the Act were promulgated since 1998, except for Section 53. Therefore, this section is not new," said Singh.
Singh addressed a joint Department of Employment and Labour and Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) workshop on the recent amendments to the EE Act and setting of EE targets.
In terms of the amendments to the EE Act signed into law in April 2025, employers that employ 50 or more employees will need to: - Submit Annual EE Report; EEA2 and EEA4.
- Comply with own Annual EE Targets towards the 5-year Sector EE Target.
- Comply with the National Minimum Wage (NMW) / exemption granted not to pay NMW (previous 12 months).
- No CCMA Unfair Discrimination Award against employers (previous 12 months).
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“We are removing the regulatory burden for designated employers. Our law is not about excluding anyone. It is about inclusivity," Singh said.
According to Singh, affirmative action is a temporary tool to effect equity, “if we meet our targets and objectives – we will not need it anymore".
The main objectives of the Employment Equity Amendments are:
- To reduce the regulatory burden for small employers.
- To empower the Minister to regulate the sector specific numerical EE targets.
- To promulgate Section 53.
- To strengthen compliance, including the issuing of EE compliance certificates.
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In the case where an employer cannot meet own set targets, there must be justifiable reasons. The annual targets the employer sets to meet the five-year targets were a milestone designed to meet the economically active population (EAP) statistics.
If you require any assistance related to Employment Equity reporting kindly contact our Recruitment Agency on 031 831 3201 or email: recruitment@masterbuilders.co.za.
Anisha Naidoo | Human Resources Manager
Reference: https://www.labour.gov.za/ee-compliance-certificate-to-be-a-prerequisite-for-access-to-state-contracts-%E2%80%93-department-of-employment-and-labour
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