Remote’s guide to employing in

South Africa
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Make employment in South Africa easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in South Africa, all in one easy-to-use platform.

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor ManagementPayroll
  • Capital City

    Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial), and Cape Town (legislative)

  • Currency

    South African Rand (R, ZAR)

  • Languages

    English and 10 other official languages

  • Population size

    59,622,350

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor ManagementPayroll
South Africa

Employment termination

Termination process

South African employers can not terminate an employee at will. Under the South African Labour Relations Act, employees have the right to be 'fairly dismissed'.

Dismissals can happen for the following reasons:

  • Dismissal without notice for misconduct (for example in the case of theft or other serious misconduct);

  • Dismissal due to incapacity, usually after opportunity to meet performance standards;

  • Termination by separation agreement, agreed upon by the employee and employer.

Notice period

The statutory notice period for an employer depends on the duration of employment:

  • 6 months or less: 1 week

  • More than 6 months to less than 1 year: 2 weeks

  • 1 year or more: 4 weeks

Probation periods

Probationary periods are permitted and must be reasonable with regards to the length to determine whether the employee is suitable for the job. 3 to 6 months is fairly commonplace.