South Africa

A new National Minimum Wage (NMW) determination by 8.5%, from R25,42 to R27,58 for each ordinary hour worked.

The new NMW will come into effect from 1 March 2024.

The NMW determination applies to the vulnerable sectors of farm workers and the domestic workers – whom since 2022 were aligned with the NMW rates.

However, the general increase in the national minimum wage will not apply to employees working on an expanded public works programme or workers engaged through learnerships. The workers employed on an expanded public works programme are entitled to a minimum wage of R15,16 per hour from R13,97. Workers who have concluded learnership agreements contemplated in section 17 of the Skills Development Act, 1998, are entitled to the allowances, which range from R415.07 to R 2421.13 a week, depending on the learner’s NQF level and number of credits earned by the learner.

The increased minimum wage will not apply to members of the South African Defence Force, the National Intelligent Agency, the South African Secret Service, and volunteers, all of whom are excluded for the ambit of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2018. A volunteer is a person who performs work for another person and who does not receive or is not entitled to receive, any remuneration for their services.

For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly instalments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.

We can help you get a new employee started in South Africa fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 3 working days.

Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.

For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.

Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.