DoEL Publishes 26th Commission for Employment Equity Annual Report

Posted 13 July 2026 Written by Acts Online
Category Labour

Brought to you by SA Accounting Academy: The Department of Employment and Labour has released the 26th Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) Annual Report for the 2025/2026 period, marking the first reporting cycle since the operationalisation of the Employment Equity Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2022.

In terms of section 33 of the Employment Equity Act, No. 55 of 1998 (EEA), the Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) has submitted its annual report to the Minister of Employment and Labour for the period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. This report represents a significant regulatory milestone as the first assessment published following the implementation of the Employment Equity Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2022, which introduced five-year sector-specific employment equity targets and the mandatory Employment Equity Compliance Certificate.

The report analyses the status of workplace transformation and representativity across the South African labour market. The findings are compiled from employment equity reports submitted by designated employers under section 21 of the EEA. To evaluate progress, the CEE benchmarked the workforce data against the demographic profile of the economically active population (EAP) as sourced from Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Quarter 3 of 2025.

The 26th Annual Report specifically highlights several critical areas of compliance and workforce demographics, including:

  • The representation and status of employment equity for persons with disabilities across various economic sectors;
  • A comparative analysis of the employment of foreign nationals within the education sector and public universities; and
  • The outcomes of workplace barrier analyses conducted and reported by designated employers within their respective operations.

Click here to download the 26th CEE Annual Report (2025/26).

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: No direct individual compliance obligations; however, professional advisors must familiarise themselves with the new five-year sector targets to provide accurate statutory advice.
  • For your business: Designated employers must review their current employment equity plans against the newly operationalised sector-specific targets and ensure they meet the requirements to secure an Employment Equity Compliance Certificate.
  • For your clients: Corporate clients must be advised to align their recruitment, skills development, and barrier analysis reporting under section 21 of the EEA with the benchmarked QLFS demographic data to avoid non-compliance penalties.

Originally published at https://accountingacademy.co.za/news/read/doel-cee-annual-report-2025-26

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