[South Africa] Adjustments to earnings threshold

In South Africa, the Department of Employment and Labour has adjusted the official earnings threshold for 2025. The change will affect anyone earning more than R21,800 per month, Business Tech reports.

The earnings threshold is the point where specific sections of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) cease to apply.

Workers whose salaries have increased beyond R21,200 per month in 2025 will reportedly lose certain automatic protections.

The majority of these protections relate to things such as ordinary hours of work, overtime and public holiday pay.

From April 1, the new threshold will be R261,748.45, up from R254,371.67 in 2024. This is an increase of R7,376.78, or 2.9 per cent.

The threshold equates to just over R21,800 per month.

According to legal experts, employees earning above the threshold will not be entitled to certain protections afforded to workers who earn below the threshold.

Employees earning above the threshold amount do not have a statutory right to demand minimum employment conditions insofar as it relates to the provisions of sections 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17(2), and 18(3) of the BCEA.

These specific provisions are:

• 9. Ordinary hours of work

• 10. Overtime

• 11. Compressed working week

• 12. Averaging of hours of work

• 14. Meal intervals

• 15. Daily and weekly rest period

• 16. Pay for work on Sundays

• 17. Night work -17(2) deals with transport and night shift allowances

• 18. Public holidays – 18(3) deals with payment for work on a public holiday that falls on a day the employee would ordinarily not have worked.

The BCEA protections for these provisions only apply to employees earning below the threshold. For those earning above the threshold, these sections may reportedly be negotiated between employer and employee.

The agreed employment conditions may be less favourable than those applicable to employees earning below the threshold. In addition, employees earning above the threshold are not subject to the deeming provisions that apply to labour brokers and fixed-term employment provisions under the Labour Relations Act.

Under the Employment Equity Act, employees earning above the threshold are not permitted to refer disputes relating to unfair discrimination to the CCMA for arbitration unless they are related to sexual harassment or all parties agree to arbitration. These must be handled by the Labour Court.

For employers, experts have warned that the increase to the earnings threshold may result in an increased number of employees becoming entitled to the stricter protections afforded to such employees in labour legislation, such as overtime payments. This could potentially have financial consequences for employers.

Source: Business Tech

In South Africa, the Department of Employment and Labour has adjusted the official earnings threshold for 2025. The change will affect anyone earning more than R21,800 per month, Business Tech reports.

The earnings threshold is the point where specific sections of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) cease to apply.

Workers whose salaries have increased beyond R21,200 per month in 2025 will reportedly lose certain automatic protections.

The majority of these protections relate to things such as ordinary hours of work, overtime and public holiday pay.

From April 1, the new threshold will be R261,748.45, up from R254,371.67 in 2024. This is an increase of R7,376.78, or 2.9 per cent.

The threshold equates to just over R21,800 per month.

According to legal experts, employees earning above the threshold will not be entitled to certain protections afforded to workers who earn below the threshold.

Employees earning above the threshold amount do not have a statutory right to demand minimum employment conditions insofar as it relates to the provisions of sections 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17(2), and 18(3) of the BCEA.

These specific provisions are:

• 9. Ordinary hours of work

• 10. Overtime

• 11. Compressed working week

• 12. Averaging of hours of work

• 14. Meal intervals

• 15. Daily and weekly rest period

• 16. Pay for work on Sundays

• 17. Night work -17(2) deals with transport and night shift allowances

• 18. Public holidays – 18(3) deals with payment for work on a public holiday that falls on a day the employee would ordinarily not have worked.

The BCEA protections for these provisions only apply to employees earning below the threshold. For those earning above the threshold, these sections may reportedly be negotiated between employer and employee.

The agreed employment conditions may be less favourable than those applicable to employees earning below the threshold. In addition, employees earning above the threshold are not subject to the deeming provisions that apply to labour brokers and fixed-term employment provisions under the Labour Relations Act.

Under the Employment Equity Act, employees earning above the threshold are not permitted to refer disputes relating to unfair discrimination to the CCMA for arbitration unless they are related to sexual harassment or all parties agree to arbitration. These must be handled by the Labour Court.

For employers, experts have warned that the increase to the earnings threshold may result in an increased number of employees becoming entitled to the stricter protections afforded to such employees in labour legislation, such as overtime payments. This could potentially have financial consequences for employers.

Source: Business Tech