Another loss over quotas court challenge as SCA rejects appeal

Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth has welcomed a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which dismissed an application for leave to appeal brought by Sakeliga and the National Employers’ Association of South Africa (Neasa) against the Employment Equity Amendment Act. The two organisations had sought to overturn an earlierjudgmentby the High Court in Pretoria. The high court in August 2025 dismissed their urgent bid tointerdictthe implementation of five-year sectoral numerical employment equity targets introduced under the amended law.

While the latest ruling deals with part A of the litigation, the broader legal challenge is not yet concluded. In part B, Sakeliga and Neasa are seeking to have Section 15A of the Act, along with its accompanying regulations, reviewed and set aside. The case stems from regulations issued in April 2025 by Meth, shortly after theEEAA came into lawmonths earlier.

These regulations introduced sector-specific numerical targets aimed at increasing representation of “designated groups” – including black people, women and people with disabilities – across 18 industries, among them agriculture, mining, transport and construction. Under the framework, companies with 50 or more employees must align their workforce to better reflect South Africa’s demographics by 2030 or face penalties. The first reporting cycle under the new system ran from 1 September 2025 to 15 January 2026.