The financial year-end and deadlines for submissions of the Employment Equity Report (EE) and the Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) are approaching, and companies need to comply with legislation before the closing dates for each of the requirements. 

15 January 2025: The Employment Equity Plan 

All designated employers are required by law to submit an Employment Equity Report and be in possession of an Employment Equity Plan. All designated employers must submit their employment equity reports annually on 15th January (electronic submissions). 

If a designated employer is not in possession of an Employment Equity Report, no points can be claimed for BEE purposes under the management and control element and the employer will run the risk of being fined for non-compliance. 

28 February 2025: The Financial Year-End 

Many companies that are BEE dependent need to ensure that the required strategies are in place and recognised spending is implemented by the financial year-end. For most companies, the financial year-end falls in February, so it is very important to ensure that the required actions are taken before the end of February 2025. If your BEE certificate expires during 2025 your BEE verification will likely be done using the February 2025 financial statements. Non-compliance with BEE can have serious financial consequences on your company and livelihood so ensure that actions are taken sooner than later. 

30 April 2025: The Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) 

Companies need to submit their WSP by no later than 30 April of every year with their applicable SETA. Without a WSP, no points for skills development can be awarded irrespective of the amount spent or whether scarce and critical skills have been transferred. Proof of submission and approval must be submitted for the BEE verification. In addition, the WSP must address the scarce and critical skills of the relevant sector, to be approved. 

The importance and benefits of submitting the WSP on time are: 

• Points will be awarded under the B-BBEE scorecard under the skills development element which is also a priority element; 
  
• Recover mandatory grants up to 20% from the relevant SETA; and 
  
• Recover discretionary grants from the relevant SETA if you do pivotal programmes considered critical or scarce. 

We are entering a critical time of the year as far as BEE and related compliance are concerned and it is crucial that the important deadlines are met to avoid non-compliance and penalties. 

If you need advice or assistance with any of the above elements, contact us: Danie Krige: E: daniek@trainingportal.co.za