In this bulletin, we take a look at the new national minimum wage, discuss how this wage is to be calculated and comment on how it may affect employees who are not full-time employees, particularly domestic workers.

The new national minimum wage

On 3 February 2026, the Minister of Employment and Labour published the new national minimum wage under the National Minimum Wage Act, 2018. Effective 1 March 2026, the national minimum wage for all workers will be increased to R 30.23 for each ordinary hour worked.  This is an increase of R 1.44 (which totals to approximately 5%) from the current minimum of R 28.79.

• For a typical work week of 38 hours, this is equivalent to R 1 148.74 per week or R 4974.04 per month.
• For a typical work week of 45 hours, this is equivalent to R 1 360.35 per week or approximately R 5 890.32 per month.
• For employees working four hours or less in a day, this equates to R 120.92 per day.

The minimum wage is an hourly one and so determining the ordinary hours worked by the employee for an employer is important. This is so particularly in the case of weekly or monthly paid employees, part-time employees or employees working for more than one employer.

The determination adjusts the national minimum wage for workers earning at this level. It does not prescribe an increase for workers, nor affect those already earning above the new minimum wage.

The national minimum wage continues to apply to farm workers and domestic workers as well.

Workers in expanded public works programmes are entitled to a minimum wage of R 16.62 for each ordinary hour worked, an increase of 79 cents from the current minimum of  R 15.83.  The published determination also adjusts the current prescribed learnership allowances, and the minimum wages in the Contract Cleaning Sector and the Wholesale and Retail Sector.  The structure of the minimum wages in the Contract Cleaning Sector and the Wholesale and Retail Sector have remained the same.  In the Contract Cleaning Sector, wages continue to vary according to geographical location, while Wholesale and Retail Sector wages vary by job category and geographical location.  For example, a cashier in the Wholesale and Retail Sector who works in Area A (a detailed list of metropolitan and local municipalities) such as the City of Tshwane is eligible for a higher hourly rate to cashiers who work in Area B (all municipalities not included in Area A).

The calculation of the wage

Employers should note how a wage is to be calculated and for what purpose, ensuring that no less than the minimum wage is paid.  In summary, they must include only what is paid in money and must exclude in the calculation other amounts such as meal allowances, transport or accommodation provided.

Our law has long recognised the difference between “remuneration” and “wage”.  The Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997, for example, defines both terms and applies the terms differently and deliberately in that Act.  The courts have also held that while a wage may be part of “remuneration,” the converse is not always true. Remuneration may be paid in money or in kind, or both in money and in kind, whereas wage is the amount of money paid or payable.

The National Minimum Wage Act sets a minimum wage.  In this Act, as in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, wage is defined to mean the amount of money paid or payable to a worker in respect of ordinary hours of work, or, if they are shorter, the hours a worker ordinarily works in a day or week.  Unlike the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, there is no mention of “remuneration.”

Every worker is entitled to payment of a wage in an amount no less than the national minimum.  Every employer must pay wages to its workers that are no less than the national minimum.

What then does the Act say about what is to be counted and what excluded in determining whether the worker is receiving no less than the minimum?

Section 5 of the Act states that the calculation of a wage for the purposes of the Act is the amount payable in money for ordinary hours of work, excluding –

• any payment made to enable a worker to work, including transport, equipment, food, or accommodation allowance, unless specified otherwise in a sectoral determination;
• any payment in kind, including board or accommodation, unless specified otherwise in a sectoral determination;
• gratuities, including bonuses, tips, or gifts; and
• any other prescribed category of payment.

Thus, while accommodation, food, or transport allowances for an employee may be part of remuneration, and thus included for the purpose of calculating pay for annual leave, payment in lieu of notice and severance pay, they are not part of the wage for determining whether the worker is being paid at least the national minimum.  Thus, free board and lodging may also not be taken into account when determining the wage.

This is further subject to section 9A of the Basic Condition of Employment Act.  This section provides that a worker who works for less than four hours on any day must be paid for four hours.  This means that the national minimum wage will be effectively R 120.92 per day and no worker should receive less than that.

Domestic workers

The remuneration of most if not all employees in the formal sector is likely to exceed even the new national minimum wage.  The Act is aimed at the most vulnerable workers in our country and has perhaps its most profound impact on domestic workers and farm workers, who are often part-time employees and work for more than one employer.

The rest of this bulletin therefore deals with the position of domestic workers, the calculation of their wages and, in particular, issues regarding accommodation and food provided by the employer.

How do employers of domestic workers (including gardeners and others working in and around a private household) ensure that they are paying not less than the statutory minimum? What benefits commonly afforded in South Africa to domestic workers may be counted and which are to be excluded for this purpose?

The employment of domestic workers is regulated not only by the National Minimum Wage Act, but also by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, and Sectoral Determination 7 for the Domestic Worker Sector, 2002.

First, as discussed, an employee must be paid no less than R 120.92 per day, even if he or she is working only four hours or less in the day.

Next, concerning accommodation, under the sectoral determination, an employer may deduct from the wage paid to a domestic worker not more than 10% of the wage for a room or other accommodation supplied to the domestic worker by the employer, but only if –

• the accommodation provided is weatherproof, and generally kept in good condition;
• has at least one window and a door that can be locked, and
• has a toilet and bath or shower if the domestic worker does not have access to another bathroom.

In addition, there must be an agreement in writing as to what amount is to be deducted, and that it be deducted from the wage.

Food is different. The sectoral determination prohibits an employer from receiving any payment directly or indirectly, or withholding any payment from a domestic worker for –

• the employment or training of the domestic worker;
• the supply of work equipment or tools;
• the supply of any work clothing; or
• any food supplied to the domestic worker while the domestic worker is working or at the workplace.

The further prescripts of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and of the Sectoral Determination concerning, for example, written particulars of employment, hours of work, overtime, various forms of leave, and other deductions from remuneration or wage, are applicable but are beyond the scope of this bulletin.

Written by Danelle Plaatjies, Fasken Associate and Ludwig Frahm-Arp, Fasken Partner