New BEE targets for businesses in South Africa
The Department of Employment and Labour has gazetted the new BEE sectoral targets for businesses in South Africa.
The targets form part of the newly published Employment Equity Regulations, 2025, which have been gazetted, repealing the previous laws in force.
The regulations set out specific racial and gender-based numerical targets for businesses across 18 industries in South Africa to achieve over the next five years.
It forms part of the government’s Broad Based Black Economic Empowernment and Affirmative Action goals, whereby it wants businesses to reflect the racial and gender demographics of the country.
While South Africa has had BEE and AA laws in full effect for decades, transformation has not been fast enough for the government’s liking.
Many top positions still do not reflect the black majority in the country, and the state now wants to force businesses to comply.
According to the department, the targets have been implemented to ensure that there is “equitable representation of suitably qualified people from designated groups at all occupational levels in the workforce”.
Notably, the targets only apply to ‘designated employers’, which are those who employ more than 50 people.
These employers are expected to set these targets as part of their Employment Equity plans and reports.
Designated employers must prepare and implement an EE Plan for the period from 1 September 2025 until 31 August 2030.
The department noted that the five-year targets are not intended to add up to 100% as they exclude white males with no disabilities and foreign nationals in the workforce profile.
For example, after five years, businesses in the accommodation and food service sector should have 56.7% of top management be from ‘designated groups’—38.1% of which should be female.
The same industry should have 78.3% of senior management reflect these groups.
84.7% of professional and middle-management positions and 95.9% of skilled technical employees should also reflect indivduals from designated groups.
Designated groups refers to black people (African, coloured and Indian), women and people with disabilities.
Failure to comply with the regulations could see companies referred to the Labour Court and face fines.
However, the department noted that designated employers will not incur penalties or any form of disadvantage if they show that there are reasonable grounds for not complying with the targets.
These “justifiable reasonable grounds” for not complying with the targets include:
- Insufficient recruitment opportunities;
- Insufficient promotion opportunities;
- Insufficient target individuals from designated groups with relevant qualifications, prior learning, experience or capacity to acquire suh within a reasonable time;
- The impact of a CCMA award or court order;
- A transfer of a business;
- Mergers or acquisitions; and
- The impact of economic conditions on the business.
The full targets can be found below:
All the new sectoral targets for businesses in South Africa
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