The employment equity plan: what section 20 requires, in one paragraph
Every designated employer (50 or more employees since 1 January 2025, or a municipality, an organ of state, or an employer bound by a collective agreement to comply) must have a written employment equity plan under section 20 of the Employment Equity Act. It runs for one to five years and sets out, for each year: the objectives, the affirmative action measures that remove the barriers found in the section 19 analysis, numerical goals against the sector targets, a timetable, how progress is monitored, who is responsible, and how disputes about the plan are resolved. It is prepared in consultation (section 16) and kept for inspection; it is not submitted with the annual report.
The chain
s19 analysis (profile + barriers) → s20 plan (goals, measures, dates) → s21 report every year (EEA2 + EEA4, 15 January) against the plan
The question at the inspection
The inspector asks for the plan, then for the consultation minutes, then for last year’s progress against it. Three documents. Could you hand over all three this week?
The EEA13-shaped plan, every section with its subsection
Free Word and PDF: employer details and the assigned manager, consultation record, the section 19 analysis, objectives per year, affirmative action measures with owners and dates, numerical goals against the sector targets, timetable, monitoring, dispute resolution and sign-off.
Page 1 of 2
- Word
Prepared in consultation, kept for inspection, reported on every January.
The EEA13: the Department’s template, and what changed in 2025
The Department of Employment and Labour publishes the plan as form EEA13. Using the form is not compulsory; containing everything section 20(2) lists is. The template on this page follows the EEA13 sections so an inspector finds what they expect where they expect it.
- Designation: 50 or more employees. The turnover test is gone, so a 30-person business with a large turnover is no longer designated, and a 55-person business with a small one is.
- Sector targets: five-year numerical targets per economic sector for the top four occupational levels and for people with disabilities (section 15A; regulations of 15 April 2025). The plan’s annual goals must move towards them.
- Submission: the 2026 reporting cycle takes the EEA2 and EEA4 only. The EEA13 is not submitted; it is kept and followed.
Writing the plan: six steps
Assign the senior manager
Section 24: one or more senior managers take responsibility for the plan. Name them in section 1.
Consult
Section 16: a representative union, or employees and representatives across levels and designated groups. Minute every meeting; the minutes are inspected.
Analyse
Section 19: the workforce profile by level, race, gender and disability (the EEA2 table), compared with the sector targets, and the barriers in your policies and practices.
Set goals and measures
For each level where you are under-represented: the annual goal, the strategy (recruitment, promotion, development), and the measure that removes the barrier, with an owner and a date.
Set the monitoring
Quarterly profile review, the annual EEA2 and EEA4, and how the plan is revised when a goal is missed, with reasons recorded.
Sign and keep
CEO, senior manager and employee representatives sign. Keep it with the consultation minutes and the analysis, available to a labour inspector.
Four plan cases, answered
What section 20 means in the situations people ask about.
60 employees, no plan, an inspector arrives
Expect a compliance order with a date to produce the plan, the analysis and the consultation minutes. Start the section 16 consultation the same week.
The year’s goal for senior management was missed; there were no vacancies
Record it in the plan review with the reason and the evidence (no exits, no new posts). Section 42 lists it as a factor. The shortfall is explained, not hidden.
Year three of a five-year plan, and the sector targets changed
Revise the numerical goals against the new targets, consult on the change, and minute it. The plan does not restart.
The union will not attend the consultation
Record the invitations and the dates. Consult the employee representatives across levels and groups (section 16), and keep the record of the attempts.
What happens when a numerical goal is missed
Missing a goal is not a contravention. Having no plan, no consultation, no report, or no reasonable grounds for the shortfall is. Section 42 lists what an inspector weighs: the pool of suitably qualified people, the economically active population, vacancies, turnover, and the progress made. Write the real reason for each gap into the plan’s review (no vacancies at that level; a skills shortage with evidence), and the plan does its job. Section 53 ties it to business: a designated employer needs a compliance certificate to contract with the state, and the certificate needs the plan.
Five employment equity plan mistakes
A plan written by a consultant and never consulted on
Section 16 consultation is the first thing an inspector asks for. A plan without minutes is a document, not compliance.
Goals copied from the sector targets
The targets are the five-year destination. The plan needs your annual goals and the measures that get there.
No barriers named
Section 19 asks what in your recruitment, promotion or environment holds designated groups back. "None" is not an analysis.
A plan that outlives the data
A five-year plan reviewed once is wrong by year two. Review it with every annual report.
Treating under 50 as safe
Chapter II (unfair discrimination) and the s25 notice apply to every employer. Only the plan and the report are limited to designated employers.
The plan is measured against the profile every January
A plan sets goals by level, race, gender and disability. Proving progress needs those fields on every employee, kept current through every hire, promotion and exit. Synthro holds them on the record and exports the profile the report and the plan review both need.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an employment equity plan?
The written plan section 20 of the Employment Equity Act requires every designated employer to prepare: the objectives for each year, the affirmative action measures to remove barriers, numerical goals against the sector targets, a timetable, how progress is monitored, who is responsible and how disputes about it are resolved. It runs for one to five years.
Who must have an employment equity plan?
Designated employers: since 1 January 2025, any employer with 50 or more employees, plus municipalities, organs of state and employers designated by collective agreement. Turnover no longer counts. An employer under 50 employees is not required to have one unless it volunteers to comply.
Is the EE plan submitted to the Department of Labour?
Not in the annual report. The 2026 reporting cycle accepts the EEA2 and EEA4 only; the department has said not to submit the EEA13. The plan must exist, be consulted on and be available to a labour inspector on request, and the annual report reports progress against it.
What is the EEA13 form?
The Department of Employment and Labour’s template for the employment equity plan. It is not compulsory to use the form itself, but the plan must contain everything section 20(2) lists, which is what the EEA13 sections do. This template follows the same sections.
How long should an employment equity plan run?
Not shorter than one year and not longer than five (section 20(2)(h)). Most employers align it to the five-year sector targets set in the 2025 regulations, with annual goals inside it.
What are the sector targets in the employment equity plan?
Five-year numerical targets per economic sector for the top four occupational levels and for people with disabilities, set by the Minister under section 15A in regulations published on 15 April 2025. A designated employer’s annual goals must move it towards its sector’s targets, with reasonable grounds recorded for any shortfall.
Who must be consulted on the employment equity plan?
A representative trade union, or employees and their nominated representatives across all occupational levels and designated groups (sections 16 and 17). Consultation covers the analysis, the plan and the report. Keep the minutes and attendance; they are the first thing an inspector asks for.
What are the penalties for not having an employment equity plan?
A labour inspector may issue a compliance order, and the Labour Court may impose fines under Schedule 1 of the Act, starting at R1.5 million or 2% of turnover for a first contravention of sections 16, 19, 20 or 21. A designated employer without a plan also cannot obtain the section 53 compliance certificate needed for state contracts.
