Employer groups seek urgent interdict against Employment Equity regulations

THE National Employers’ Association of South Africa (Neasa) and Sakeliga have officially notified the Minister of Employment and Labour, Dr Nomakhosazana Meth, of their intent to seek an urgent interdict against the contentious Employment Equity (EE) regulations.

- SIPHELELE DLUDLA

This comes after the department published two sets of EE Regulations on 15 April - the General Administrative Regulations, and Regulations on Sector Numerical EE Targets - following the commencement of the Employment Equity Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2022, on 1 January 2025. The proposed regulations mandate employers to adhere to strict hiring quotas based on race, sex, and disability, with penalties for non-compliance reaching up to 10% of a company’s turnover.

Section 15(A) of the Equity Employment Amendment Act empowers the minister to set numerical targets.

According to the Act, the Minister may, after consulting the relevant sectors and with the advice of the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE), for the purpose of ensuring the equitable representation of suitably qualified people from the designated groups at all occupational levels in the workforce, by notice in the Government Gazette set numerical targets for any national economic sector identified in terms of subsection (1).