The Minister of Employment and Labour increased the national minimum wage by 8,5%, from R25,42 to R27,58 per hour. The new minimum wage will take effect from 1 March 2024. Scorpion discusses who this affects, who is excluded and what other rules on hourly rates you should know about if you are a minimum wage worker.

Who does minimum wage apply to?

Minimum wage comes from the National Minimum Wage Act, and is applicable to most people earning below the threshold of R241,110.59 annually.

• This means that if you work 8 hours per day, minimum daily wage is R220.64.
• If you work 8 hours per day, and 20 days per month, minimum wage in South Africa per month is R4 412.80.

This includes domestic workers and farm workers, as well as fixed-term workers, part-time and contract workers, and workers provided to employers through labour brokers. Make sure you check if there are any specific bargaining agreements within your industry, as these might introduce additional requirements.

Who is excluded from minimum wage?

• Members of the National Defence Force, National Intelligence Agency, and the South African Secret Service.
• Volunteers also do not qualify, as they perform work without any entitlement to remuneration.
• Workers employed on an expanded public works programme are entitled to a minimum wage of R15.16 per hour (up from R 13.97).
• Workers who have concluded learnership agreements as per section 17 of the Skills Development Act are entitled to increased allowances (see page 2 of Government Gazette notice linked here for the exact amounts).

Rules on hourly rates for minimum wage

Minimum wage may not include allowances for work, for example, money for food, equipment, uniforms, transport, accommodation, or tips. These may be given over and above your minimum wage – employers cannot calculate them to form part of your R27.58 minimum hourly rate.

However, the issue of bonuses and employer provident fund contributions is different. A recent Labour Appeal Court case raised questions about the inclusion of benefits and bonuses in the minimum wage calculation. The workers’ union argued they should be given over and above minimum wage, the employer disagreed. The union took the employer to the CCMA, the case went to the Labour Court and when the employer disagreed with the judgment, the case went to the Labour Appeals Court. Here, the court ruled that an employer may indeed include contractual bonuses (bonuses included as part of your terms of employment in your employment contract) and employer provident fund contributions in the calculation of an employee’s hourly rate.

Fight for your right to minimum wage

Facing unfair employers alone can be difficult, especially when you don’t have tons of money to spend on expensive lawyers. Fight for your rights! Get legal protection now.

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*This is only basic legal advice and cannot be relied on solely. The information is correct at the time of being sent to publishing.