HR leaders brace for 1 September EE deadline

At Tsebo Solutions Group, group CHRO Elanie Kruger says the changes are being embraced as an opportunity rather than a compliance chore. “We are evaluating our internal people policies and systems to ensure full compliance with the updated EE regulations and to support the successful implementation of our revised EE plan,” she explains.

“This process includes benchmarking our internal workforce profile across all divisions – catering, cleaning, facilities and security – against the newly published sector-specific numerical targets and the Economically Active Population (EAP) data. Our leadership team has been involved in this process to ensure top-down commitment.”

Operationally, they anticipate several changes which include revising recruitment and promotion strategies to better reflect the sectoral targets, enhancing data analytics capabilities, strengthening succession plans, continuing to reinforce internal accountability, and bolstering disability declarations and destigmatising the declaration of disabilities to foster higher levels of inclusivity.

“Over the years, Tsebo has built a strong foundation in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, with a longstanding commitment to empowering underrepresented groups and creating equitable access to opportunities across all levels of the organisation. This next phase marks a continuation of that legacy driving meaningful change through intentional action.”

However, Elaine remains realistic about the road ahead. “We anticipate challenges in achieving equitable representation at senior occupational levels, particularly in areas where the talent pipeline for designated groups is limited,” she says.

To address this, Tsebo is partnering with accredited institutions and industry bodies like CATHSSETA, Services SETA, and PSIRA.

Context is everything

For Kyle Wesemann, transformation executive at LabourNet, the legislation must be considered within the broader socio-economic context.

“Employment Equity compliance is not an isolated task – it must be integrated into the broader strategic and operational realities of running a business in South Africa, where employers are often juggling numerous competing priorities, and new compliance demands can add to the existing challenge.”

A persistent and significant challenge he notes within the South African labour market is the documented shortage of suitably qualified candidates from designated groups.

“This skills gap is often a direct result of historical disparities in access to quality education and comprehensive training opportunities. Consequently, it can present a genuine difficulty for employers striving to meet the newly mandated sectoral targets within the prescribed timeframe, especially in sectors that require highly specialised technical skills or extensive professional experience.”

Moreover, he explains that during periods of economic downturn or uncertainty, businesses may be compelled to implement hiring freezes or, in more severe cases, to undertake retrenchments of staff. 

“Such measures can directly and negatively impact an employer’s ability to make meaningful progress towards achieving their established EE targets. In these challenging circumstances, the immediate focus of businesses may understandably shift towards ensuring short‑term survival and maintaining operational stability, potentially taking precedence over longer‑term strategic goals such as workforce transformation.”

He further reminds of the bigger purpose of these changes. “The primary objective of the EEA is twofold: to eliminate unfair discrimination in all facets of employment and to actively promote equal opportunity and fair treatment for every individual within the workplace.”

“For these changes to be effective, interpretation and implementation need to be clear and measured consistently, the simpler the route to achieving an objective, the more comprehensively and effectively the outcome will be achieved. The guidelines are very blurred, and application gaps remain unanswered, and this puts greater risk on employers through incorrect implementation, detracting from the overall goal of these amendments.”

Planning beyond the paperwork

Nicol Myburgh, head of HR services at CRS Technologies, says while his organisation isn’t a designated employer, it has been playing a key advisory role.

He notes that although clients are adapting their EE plans, this is just the starting line. “Planning to achieve the targets is where the real work starts,” he says. “To a certain extent this could be managed with natural staff attrition – replacing leaving staff with new staff from designated groups aligned to the equity targets. Unfortunately, this will not get your organisation all the way there unless you have a high enough employee turnover rate, which is not something any employer aspires to.”

He explains how workforce planning plays a role by taking a strategic approach to the workforce to work out what new roles will come into existence over the five-year period, then weighting skills, experience and equity accordingly.

He also sees the biggest challenge as “a balancing act between organisational needs and availability of skills and experience within designated groups”.

“To remain competitive, companies need to strategically plan for future skills. A good example is current manual tasks being taken over by AI. This leads to new skills requirements and these are the skills that need to be identified and developed within designated groups. Over the next five years many new skills will be needed, which presents a great opportunity to align skills development with EE targets.”

“The EEA is widely seen as a hindrance for competitive businesses, but if applied correctly in the spirit in which it is intended, it could be a positive force driving skills development and reskilling, making businesses future-proof while driving meaningful change.”