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Employment Services Amendment Bill

LabourRef: https://www.labour.gov.za/DocumentCenter/Bills/Employment%20Services%20Amendment%20Bill.pdf

Official source

Source domain: labour.gov.za

Collected on 5 July 2026

Always confirm details on the official source before acting.

Our copy (archived 21 July 2026)Official source

What this means

This document is the text of the Employment Services Amendment Bill, 2026, introduced in the National Assembly. It amends the Employment Services Act, 2014, mainly by inserting new definitions and expanding the Act’s scope to regulate the employment of foreign nationals (including asylum seekers and refugees), private employment agencies not operating for gain, and workers. The Bill inserts a new Chapter 3A that prohibits employing foreign nationals without proper permission, requires employers to verify entitlement, consider local skills, prepare skills transfer plans (with possible exemptions), and allows the Minister to set sectoral quotas for foreign employment via Gazette notices, with consultation and comment requirements. It also provides for regulations on foreign employment and for enforcement rights for employees/workers unlawfully employed under the new Chapter.

Facts

Reference

https://www.labour.gov.za/DocumentCenter/Bills/Employment%20Services%20Amendment%20Bill.pdf

Key Takeaways

  • Bill title: Employment Services Amendment Bill (2026)
  • Introduced in National Assembly; proposed section 75
  • Government Gazette prior notice: No. 54743 of 26 May 2026
  • Reference: [B 16—2026]; Minister of Employment and Labour
  • Amends Employment Services Act 4 of 2014 (principal Act)
  • Inserts Chapter 3A: Employment of Foreign Nationals
  • Prohibition: no person may employ a foreign national to work in South Africa unless permitted under Immigration Act/Refugees Act or other binding law/international agreement
  • Employer duties: verify entitlement, ensure no suitable local/other non-foreign nationals available, prepare skills transfer plan (unless excluded by Minister determination), provide non-inferior terms, retain visa and work entitlement documents
  • Skills transfer plan exclusion: Minister may determine exclusions only on advice of the Board; issued by Gazette notice
  • Quotas: Minister may set maximum quotas for foreign employment by sector after consulting the Board; Gazette notice must specify compliance periods and exclude small employers
  • Small employer definition: not in public sector; employs less than 10 employees; not operating more than one business; not formed by division/dissolution of an existing business
  • Quota notice process: draft published in Gazette; at least 30 days for comments
  • Quota factors: purpose of Act, sectoral determinations/bargaining councils, availability of requisite skills (including critical skills) among South Africans/refugees/asylum seekers, and international obligations under Constitution s231
  • Enforcement: employees/workers employed in contravention may enforce claims against employer; labour inspector enforcement routes referenced to National Minimum Wage Act 2018 and employment law under Basic Conditions of Employment Act
  • Republic of South Africa
  • Parliament of the Republic of South Africa
  • Minister of Employment and Labour
  • Employment Services Board
  • Labour inspector
  • NEDLAC
  • Immigration Act
  • Refugees Act, 1998 (Act No. 130 of 1998)
  • Labour Relations Act
  • Basic Conditions of Employment Act
  • National Minimum Wage Act, 2018 (Act No. 9 of 2018)
  • Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
  • Employment Services Act, 2014 (Act No. 4 of 2014)
  • Supported Employment Enterprises (section 42 referenced)

Dates

Closing Date

26 May 2026