EEA4 income differential statement

The EEA4 is the statement of remuneration and benefits that a designated employer submits with its employment equity report (the EEA2) each year. It shows pay for each occupational level by race and gender, and it is the basis on which income differentials are judged under section 27 of the Employment Equity Act.

Who submits

• Designated employers: employers with 50 or more employees, all organs of state, and employers with fewer than 50 employees designated by a collective agreement. Since 1 January 2025 there is no turnover test.
• The report is approved by the CEO before it is submitted.

When

Forms	EEA2 and EEA4 only
Online	On the Department of Employment and Labour's EE portal; the 2026 reporting period closes on 15 January 2027 at 23:59
Manual	Posted reports not accepted after 1 October 2026; reports by fax or email never accepted
2026	The first assessment year against the sectoral targets for all designated employers

Section 27: income differentials

• 27(1): a designated employer submits a statement of the remuneration and benefits received in each occupational level of its workforce. Since 1 January 2025 (Employment Equity Amendment Act 4 of 2022) it goes to the National Minimum Wage Commission.
• 27(2): where the statement shows disproportionate income differentials, or unfair discrimination under section 6(4), the employer must take measures to reduce them progressively.
• 27(3): the measures may include collective bargaining, compliance with sectoral determinations and the national minimum wage, the Commission's benchmarks and skills development.
• 27(5): the Commission may not disclose information about individual employees or employers.

Equal pay for work of equal value

Under section 6(4) of the Act, a difference in pay between employees doing the same, substantially the same or equal-value work is unfair discrimination unless it is justified. The Employment Equity Regulations, 2025 (GN 6125) set out how:

• Regulation 6: work is compared on responsibility, skills and qualifications, effort, and working conditions.
• Regulation 7: a difference may be justified by seniority or length of service; qualifications, ability or potential above the minimum the job needs; performance, consistently measured; a demotion where pay is kept; a temporary training post; a shortage of skills or market value; or another factor that is not discriminatory. The employer must show that the difference is not biased and is proportionate.
• The Code of Good Practice on Equal Pay/Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (GN 448 of 2015) gives the method: job evaluation, then a comparison of pay for jobs of equal value.

Sectoral targets

The sectoral numerical targets (GN 6124, 15 April 2025) set five-year targets for 18 sectors at top management, senior management and professionally qualified levels, and 3% people with disabilities across the workforce. The current employment equity plan cycle runs from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2030. Compliance is a condition of the certificate needed for state contracts.

What payroll needs to give

• Every employee's occupational level, race, gender, disability and nationality, as on the EEA2.
• Their remuneration and benefits for the period, so that totals and averages by level, race and gender can be stated and compared.
• For equal pay: job grades or evaluated job sizes, so that pay can be compared within jobs of equal value, and the reasons recorded for any difference.

Sources

• Department of Employment and Labour: EE online reporting
• Employment and Labour: 2026 reporting period
• Employment Equity Act, section 27
• Employment Equity Regulations, 2025, regulation 7
• Code of Good Practice on Equal Pay, 2015

A summary for employers and practitioners, not legal advice. The regulator's and the legislation's own text govern.