The employment equity report is due 15 January 2027
A designated employer must submit its employment equity report to the Department of Employment and Labour every year under section 21 of the Employment Equity Act. For the 2026 cycle the online window opened on 1 September 2026 and closes on 15 January 2027. Paper submissions closed on 1 October 2026.
The 2026 cycle
EEA2 (the report) + EEA4 (income differentials) → online at labour.gov.za → by 15 January 2027
The two weeks before the deadline fall over the December shutdown, which is when most late reports are made. Work back from early December.
The report is only as good as the headcount
Most EE reports go wrong before the portal: the workforce profile is pulled from payroll, a leave sheet and someone’s memory, and the three disagree. Could you produce today every employee’s occupational level, race, gender and disability status from one list?
The EEA2 workforce profile table, totalling itself
Free Excel workbook: the six occupational levels by race, gender, disability and nationality, plus a movements sheet for recruitment, promotions and terminations. The PDF is the print copy for the section 16 consultation.
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- Excel
The EEA2 and EEA4 go in together, online, by 15 January.
Are you a designated employer? The 50-employee rule
The Employment Equity Amendment Act, in force since 1 January 2025, removed the turnover test. You are a designated employer if you are:
- An employer with 50 or more employees
- A municipality or an organ of state
- An employer designated by a collective agreement
- An employer who volunteers to comply
A business with 30 staff and R100 million turnover was designated before 2025 and is not now. A business that crossed 50 employees this year is, even on a small turnover.
How to submit the EEA2 and EEA4, step by step
Consult (section 16)
Meet the trade union or employee representatives on the analysis and the report. Minute it.
Update the workforce profile
Every employee by occupational level, race, gender, disability and nationality, as at the reporting date. Pull it from one source, not three spreadsheets.
Check the plan and the sector targets
Compare progress with your employment equity plan and the five-year sectoral targets in the 2025 regulations. Record the reasons for any shortfall.
Complete the EEA4
Remuneration by occupational level, with the income differentials and the steps to reduce unjustified gaps.
Submit online
Register or log in on the department’s EE online reporting portal, capture both forms, and keep the acknowledgement of receipt.
Four designation cases, answered
The 50-employee test in the situations people ask about.
55 employees, R20 million turnover
Designated. Turnover stopped counting on 1 January 2025. The EEA2 and EEA4 are due online by 15 January.
30 employees, R100 million turnover
Not designated. Chapter II (no unfair discrimination) and the section 25 notice still apply.
Headcount passed 50 in October
Designated from then. The plan and the analysis start now; the first report is the next cycle you are designated at the reporting date for. Consult early rather than argue about the cut-off.
The portal asks for nothing but the EEA2 and EEA4; where does the EEA13 go?
Nowhere this cycle. The plan is kept, followed and shown to an inspector, not uploaded.
What the EEA2 asks for, section by section
The EEA2 is mostly tables. Every one of them is drawn from the same employee data, which is why the report is easy for a business that keeps clean records and painful for one that does not.
- Employer details: registration numbers, the sector, the reporting period and the person accountable for employment equity, usually a senior manager assigned under section 24.
- Workforce profile: every employee by occupational level (top management down to unskilled), by race, gender and disability, with foreign nationals shown separately.
- Movements: recruitment, promotions, terminations and skills development during the year, broken down the same way. Terminations are split by reason, so the UI-19 reason codes and the EE figures should agree.
- Numerical goals and targets: what the plan said for this year, what was achieved, and the reasons for any gap.
- Barriers and measures: the barriers found in the section 19 analysis and the affirmative action measures taken against them.
- Consultation and sign-off: who was consulted and when, and the signature of the chief executive officer.
The EEA4: income differentials by occupational level
The EEA4 is the statement section 27 of the Act requires: remuneration and benefits at each occupational level, by race and gender. Its purpose is to show where pay differs disproportionately and what the employer is doing to reduce gaps that cannot be justified by seniority, qualifications, performance or similar fair criteria.
Two habits make it easier. Record every employee’s total guaranteed package the same way, with allowances and benefits counted consistently. And set the occupational level when you hire someone, not when the report is due, so nobody is placed on a level in January to make a table balance.
Sector targets since the 2025 regulations
The amendments gave the Minister power to set sectoral numerical targets (section 15A), and the regulations published on 15 April 2025 set five-year targets per economic sector for the top occupational levels and for people with disabilities. A designated employer’s plan now has to set annual targets that move it towards its sector’s figures.
Falling short is not by itself a contravention. Failing to have a plan, to consult, to report, or to give reasonable grounds for missing a target is. That is why the reasons column in the EEA2 matters as much as the numbers: write real reasons, such as no vacancies at that level or a specific skills shortage, and keep the evidence.
Five employment equity reporting mistakes
Using the pre-2025 turnover test
Designation now turns on 50 or more employees. Turnover no longer brings a small employer in.
Submitting the EEA13 again
Only the EEA2 and EEA4 are accepted this cycle.
No consultation record
Section 16 consultation without minutes cannot be proved.
Three sources for one headcount
Payroll, the leave sheet and the org chart disagree, and the report inherits the gap.
Leaving it for the shutdown
The deadline falls two weeks after most businesses close for December.
After the report: the duties that run all year
Display the notice
Section 25: the Act’s summary on the wall, next to the BCEA poster.
Keep the plan current
The plan is inspected, even though it is not submitted this cycle.
Compliance certificate
Section 53: needed to contract with an organ of state.
B-BBEE management control
The same workforce figures feed the B-BBEE scorecard.
Records
Keep the consultation minutes, the data and the acknowledgement. They are the defence at an inspection.
The workforce profile, already built
The EEA2 is a table of your people by level, race, gender and disability. Synthro holds those fields on every employee record, keeps movements as they happen, and exports the profile when the window opens, so January is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the employment equity report due?
For online submission, between 1 September and 15 January. The 2026 reporting cycle closes on 15 January 2027. Manual (paper) reports for the 2026 cycle closed on 1 October 2026, and the department has said it will not accept faxed, emailed or posted reports.
Who must submit an employment equity report?
Designated employers. Since the Employment Equity Amendment Act came into force on 1 January 2025, that means an employer with 50 or more employees, regardless of turnover, plus municipalities, organs of state and employers designated by a collective agreement. Employers with fewer than 50 employees no longer report because of turnover.
What is the difference between the EEA2 and the EEA4?
The EEA2 is the employment equity report itself: the workforce profile by occupational level, race, gender and disability, movements during the year and progress against the plan. The EEA4 is the income differential statement: remuneration by occupational level, used to show and reduce disproportionate pay gaps. Both are submitted together.
Do I submit the EEA13 employment equity plan?
Not for the 2026 cycle. The department’s online reporting notice says only the EEA2 and EEA4 are accepted, and the EEA12 and EEA13 should not be submitted. The plan must still exist, be consulted on and be available for inspection.
What are the penalties for not submitting an EE report?
Schedule 1 to the Employment Equity Act sets maximum fines that start at R1.5 million, or 2% of turnover if that is greater, for a first contravention, rising for repeat contraventions. Since 2025 a designated employer also needs a compliance certificate under section 53 to contract with the state.
Do I need to consult employees before submitting the EE report?
Yes. Section 16 requires the employer to consult a representative trade union, or employees and their nominated representatives, on the analysis, the plan and the report. Keep the minutes and attendance: consultation is the first thing an inspector asks to see.
What occupational levels are used in the EEA2?
Six: top management, senior management, professionally qualified and experienced specialists and mid-management, skilled technical and academically qualified workers, semi-skilled workers, and unskilled workers. Each employee is placed on one level by the work they do, not their job title.
Can I submit the employment equity report after 15 January?
The online system closes on 15 January. A report not submitted by then is a contravention of section 21, and the department may issue a compliance order or refer the matter to the Labour Court for a fine. Submit early and keep the acknowledgement of receipt.
Do employers with fewer than 50 employees have any employment equity duties?
Yes. Chapter II of the Act, which prohibits unfair discrimination, applies to every employer regardless of size, and so does the duty to display the summary of the Act under section 25. Only the affirmative action duties in Chapter III, including the plan and the annual report, are limited to designated employers.
Who signs the employment equity report?
The chief executive officer, or the most senior manager of the business, signs the EEA2 and EEA4. The senior manager assigned employment equity responsibility under section 24 usually prepares it, but signing it is the CEO’s responsibility and cannot be delegated to a consultant.
