The publication of the Labour Law Amendment Bill in Government Gazette No. 54220 on 26 February 2026 marks the most comprehensive review of South Africa’s employment legislation in more than a decade.

The Bill proposes amendments to the Labour Relations Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Employment Equity Act and National Minimum Wage Act following an extended NEDLAC negotiation process conducted between April 2022 and October 2024.

While significant consensus was achieved on institutional reforms affecting the Labour Court and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), several substantive provisions carry notable economic, compliance and governance implications that will now be tested during the public comment phase prior to Parliamentary consideration.

What Emerged from the NEDLAC Process

The NEDLAC negotiations resulted in several areas of consensus between organised business, organised labour and government. Among the agreed amendments is the introduction of an earnings threshold of R1.8-million per annum, limiting reinstatement as a remedy in non-automatic unfair dismissal disputes. Compensation caps linked to CPI adjustments were also incorporated.

The Bill further simplifies the statutory test for procedural fairness, aligning it with prevailing jurisprudence by requiring that an employee be afforded a fair and reasonable opportunity to respond.

Start-up businesses with fewer than 50 employees will benefit from a two-year exemption from extended bargaining council collective agreements. Amendments to section 189A rationalise large-scale retrenchment procedures, restoring the ability to challenge dismissals post-implementation and reducing procedural duplication. A 24-month validity cap on section 77 socio-economic protest certificates has also been introduced.

Taken together, these amendments reflect a negotiated recalibration of certain procedural and remedial mechanisms within the existing labour framework.

Provisions with Material Economic and Compliance Implications

Several proposed amendments carry significant economic and compliance implications.

Statutory severance pay is set to increase from one week to two weeks per completed year of service. For organisations engaged in periodic restructuring, this amendment may necessitate revised workforce cost modelling and financial planning assumptions.

The proposed extension of the definition of “employee,” through a new Schedule 11 to the Labour Relations Act, seeks to extend organisational and collective bargaining rights to certain non-standard and platform-based workers. This represents a potential structural shift in the regulation of emerging work models.

The cost and operational implications of large-scale reclassification remain uncertain and will likely require further interpretative guidance.

Proposed protections for “on call” workers under section 9B of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act introduce minimum pay guarantees and advance notice obligations. These provisions may affect sectors reliant on flexible staffing arrangements.

The amendment to the National Minimum Wage Act, following the Labour Appeal Court’s decision in the Quantum Foods matter, clarifies the exclusion of certain contractual bonuses from minimum wage calculations.

Proposed amendments to the Employment Equity Act concerning arbitrary wage differentiation further signal increased regulatory attention to pay equity compliance.

The Public Participation Phase

The public comment phase now underway constitutes a critical procedural step within the legislative process. Submissions received during this period may influence the refinement, amendment or reconsideration of contested provisions before the Bill is formally introduced in Parliament.

The Labour Law Amendment Bill now enters the formal public participation phase prior to Parliamentary deliberation. The extent and substance of stakeholder engagement during this period may shape the final legislative architecture governing South Africa’s employment relations framework.

Written by John Botha, Joint CEO of Global Business Solutions (GBS), a South African workplace and labour advisory firm specialising in employment law and workforce governance