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The Minister of Employment and Labour has gazetted a new National Minimum Wage, effective 1 March 2025. The full Government Gazette can be viewed here.
The minimum wage has increased to R28.79 per hour (up from R27,58 p/h).
- For an 8-hour day (excluding lunch break, which is unpaid time), that means R230.32 per day.
- For those who work a 45-hour week, this means a weekly wage of R1,295.55; and a minimum salary of around R5,609.73 per month.
[According to case law, the minimum wage includes commission earned by an employee – and
if an employee’s earnings (including commission) is less than the minimum wage, the employer is expected to top this up so that the employee does not earn less than the minimum wage amount.]
The Act is applicable to all employees who fall under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, as well as domestic- and farm workers. There are also tables setting out the increases for the Contract Cleaning Sector and Wholesale and Retail.
The statutory minimum wage cannot be varied by contract or collective agreement, or working hours changed unilaterally to avoid an increase in salary.
There are exceptions for workers on expanded public works programmes and specific allowances for people on learnerships, and it does not apply to certain government security departments.
7 February 2025
Written by Judith Griessel, Griessel Consulting
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