The Minister of Employment and Labour has increased the earnings threshold and the national minimum wage.

Earnings Threshold Adjustment: Effective April 1, 2024, the Minister of Employment and Labour has revised the earnings threshold from R241,110.59 per annum (R20,092.54 per month) to R254,371.67 per annum (R21,197.63 per month). The earnings threshold, as defined, constitutes the regular annual remuneration of an employee before the deduction of income tax, pension, medical aid, and analogous contributions, excluding corresponding payments by the employer. Notably, subsistence and transport allowances, achievement awards, and overtime remuneration do not factor into this calculation.

Employees surpassing the earnings threshold are exempted from certain provisions regulating work hours, overtime compensation, compressed schedules, averaging of hours, meal breaks, rest intervals, Sunday remuneration, night shifts, and public holiday compensation under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (BCEA). Conversely, individuals earning between R20,093 and R21,198 per month will now qualify as "vulnerable" workers, thereby enjoying enhanced entitlements according to the BCEA.

Implications for Temporary and Fixed-Term Employees: Temporary employment services (TES) employees earning within the aforementioned bracket shall, from April 1, 2024, be deemed to be employees of the TES client, provided they satisfy the criteria delineated in Section 198A of the Labour Relations Act (LRA). Should such employees engage in non-temporary duties for a duration exceeding three months with the client, they may attain the status of permanent employees of the latter, consequently rendering the client jointly and severally liable for any BCEA non-compliance by the TES.

Similarly, fixed-term contract employees earning within the stipulated range will, as of April 1, 2024, be deemed permanent employees of their respective employers if they meet the requisites articulated in section 198B of the LRA. An employer's failure to justify the term's duration may prompt the designation of these employees as permanent, necessitating equal treatment in comparison to permanent counterparts.

National Minimum Wage Augmentation: Commencing March 1, 2024, the Minister has raised the national minimum wage by 8.5%, elevating it from R25.42 to R27.58 per ordinary hour worked. This increase pertains to most workers, encompassing farm and domestic labourers, whose minimum wage has aligned with the national rate since 2022.

However, exemptions apply to individuals engaged in expanded public works programs or enrolled in learnerships, with distinct wage revisions applicable to each category. Expanded works program participants will witness their minimum wage escalate from R13.97 to R15.16 per hour, while learnership participants, as per Section 17 of the Skills Development Act, 1998, will receive increased allowances commensurate with their National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level and earned credits.

Exceptions and Compliance Imperatives: Certain personnel, including members of the South African Defence Force, the National Intelligent Agency, the South African Secret Service, and volunteers, are exempted from the ambit of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2018. Employers are strongly urged to ensure adherence to the revised minimum wages, as non-compliance may trigger penalties under Section 76A(1) of the BCEA.

To maintain compliance, employers must undertake comprehensive reviews of employment contracts and policies to align them with the revised legislated amounts. Furthermore, audits of both the workforce and labour suppliers are imperative to ensure BCEA compliance across the board.

These regulatory adjustments signify enhanced remuneration and safeguards for a substantial portion of the South African workforce, underscoring the evolving landscape of labour law in the nation.