ConCourt Denies Urgent Relief on Employment Equity Quotas

Last week, the Constitutional Court declined Sakeliga and NEASA's application for leave to appeal in our urgent application for an interdict against the Employment Equity quotas enacted in 2025.

In declining the appeal, the Constitutional Court has failed to acknowledge the tremendous compliance costs, business planning risks, and investment deterrence caused by the quotas.

The quotas prescribe strict limitations on employment by race and sex for organisations with 50 or more employees. It limits white male employment to as little as 4% in many cases, and dictates absurd and unrealistic gender hiring prescriptions in many industries.

As a consequence, businesses are now exposed to interim enforcement actions by the Department of Labour and other state entities, pending legal clarity from Sakeliga and NEASA’s ongoing review application in the non-urgent court.

Businesses are advised to take additional precautionary measures to manage the legal, ethical, and commercial risks arising from the regulatory requirements.

• Sakeliga and NEASA reiterate the importance of not voluntarily committing your business to meeting racial and other employment ratios you do not intend to, or cannot, meet.
  
• Where forced to submit “targets” that you do not agree with, as part of a state-required employment equity plan, it should be accompanied by your formal written protest.

Careful management of the compliance requirements now will put thousands of businesses in a good position to defend their rights and to counter this unacceptable and unconstitutional Act with case-by-case litigation in the years ahead.

The Constitutional Court’s refusal to grant leave to appeal comes after more than eight months of urgent litigation. During this time, neither the Constitutional Court, nor the Supreme Court of Appeal, nor the Pretoria High Court meaningfully engaged with the substantive harm that the quotas inflict each day on businesses, employees, and prospective employees of all backgrounds.

The avenues for urgent interim relief through the South African courts have now been exhausted. However, the substantive challenge to the Employment Equity Amendment Act and its quota regulations remains intact, and Sakeliga and NEASA will now shift our focus to expediting this legal process.

The review application

The review application seeks to have the enabling provisions of the Employment Equity Amendment Act declared unconstitutional and the quota regulations set aside. Grounds include that the quota provisions are unlawful and unconstitutional, are disproportionate, and grant improper ministerial power unrestrained by law.

Further undue delays expected

The matter will take time to finalise, both because of full court rolls and because of the Department of Employment and Labour's pattern of delays, which in March 2026 required a punitive cost order (on an attorney-client scale) to compel the Minister to deliver the record of decision.

An incomplete version of this record of decision was finally delivered this week, and we are studying its substance while insisting on delivery of the full record.

What businesses should do in the meantime

Amid our ongoing legal proceedings about the hiring quotas, Sakeliga recommends that businesses follow a prudent, carefully considered approach of maximum appropriate non-cooperation, subject to tailored legal advice. This approach includes, where possible, avoiding commitments to meet government targets while maintaining value-driven recruitment that respects employees, fosters workplace harmony, and mitigates harmful political interference.

Further resources

• For tailored labour law advice and strategy, contact NEASA here: https://www.neasa.co.za/service/employmentequitysolutions/

For more on maximum appropriate non-cooperation and the hiring quotas, see https://www.sakeliga.org.za/insight/sakeliga-and-neasa-will-appeal-flawed-employment-equity-judgment