South Africa
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.
- 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
Facts & Stats
- 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
- Ease of doing business
Easy
- Cost of living index
$$ (77 of 139 nations)
- Payroll frequency
Monthly
- VAT - standard rate
15%
- GDP - real growth rate
0.7871% (2018 est.)
South Africa, Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. With over 59 million people, it is the world's 24th-most populous nation. South Africa is a developing country and ranks 113th on the Human Development Index, the seventh-highest in Africa. It has been classified by the World Bank as a newly industrialised country, with the second-largest economy in Africa, and the 33rd-largest in the world.
Grow your team in South Africa with Remote
Want to hire employees in South Africa? Companies hiring in South Africa are typically required to either own a local legal entity or work with a global employment platform like Remote that can legally provide employment services in the country.
Remote can employ team members in South Africa and keep you compliant at all times. Remote can hire, onboard, and pay your South Africa team so you don't have to set up local HR services in the region. Remote also makes it easy to pay contractors in South Africa. now to get started or talk to an expert for more details.
Risks of misclassification
South Africa, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in South Africa may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.
Employing in South Africa
Employment law in South Africa is not contained under a single law and is informed by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, common law and specific labour legislation. In general, South African labour law is divided into two areas: collective labour law and individual employment law.
Collective labour law governs the relationship between employers and trade unions, disputes, wage agreements, strikes, lockouts, etc.. Legislation related to this is all contained under the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1996 (LRA). Individual employment law relates to the law that govern the minimum terms and conditions of employment, regulation of terminations and disputes concerning unfair dismissal, labour practices, and discrimination claims.
Minimum Wage
A new National Minimum Wage (”NMW”) determination by 8.5%, from R25,42 to R27,58 for each ordinary hour worked.
The new NMW will come into effect from 1 March 2024.
The NMW determination applies to the vulnerable sectors of farm workers and the domestic workers – whom since 2022 were aligned with the NMW rates.
However, the general increase in the national minimum wage will not apply to employees working on an expanded public works programme or workers engaged through learnerships. The workers employed on an expanded public works programme are entitled to a minimum wage of R15,16 per hour from R13,97. Workers who have concluded learnership agreements contemplated in section 17 of the Skills Development Act, 1998, are entitled to the allowances, which range from R415.07 to R 2421.13 a week, depending on the learner’s NQF level and number of credits earned by the learner.
The increased minimum wage will not apply to members of the South African Defence Force, the National Intelligent Agency, the South African Secret Service, and volunteers, all of whom are excluded for the ambit of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2018. A volunteer is a person who performs work for another person and who does not receive or is not entitled to receive, any remuneration for their services.
Payroll Cycle
For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.
Onboarding Time
We can help you get a new employee started in South Africa fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 3 working days.
Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.
For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.
Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.
13 Public holidays
Want to see and manage all holidays? Sign up for our free HRIS!
Effortless HR South Africa: Take the Tour
Competitive benefits package in South Africa
At Remote, we’re passionate about helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in developing globally competitive benefits programs. This means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive, and your company has the localized expertise needed to attract and keep the best global talent.
Our benefits packages in South Africa are tailored to fulfill the local needs of employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Mental Health Support
Pension or 401(K)
Life and Disability Insurance
Fair Pricing in South Africa
Employer of Record
Hire and pay your global team
Starting at $599/month
for annual plans
Top features
Satisfaction guaranteed
No deposits or hidden fees
Zero onboarding or offboarding fees
Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting
Built-in security and compliance
Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)
Flexible, localized benefits
Contractor Management
Compliantly onboard and pay contractors
$29
per contractor/month
Top features
Only pay for contractors you actively work with
Work with contractors in 200+ countries and territories
Create, edit, and sign tailored, localized contracts
Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay
Transparent payments with complete visibility
Payroll
Consolidate your multi-country payroll
$29
per employee/month
Top features
Simplify: Comprehensive platform that integrates all payroll functions
Support: Personalized assistance with a dedicated team and specialists
Accuracy: Test runs and parallel pay runs before implementation
Compliance: Adhere to local labor laws in every country
Timeliness: Accurate and on-time payroll with labor authority reporting handled
Experience: Seamless payroll with easy access to payslips and expenses
Top features
Guided onboarding and offboarding
Employee profile and document management
Time and attendance (time off and tracking)
Expense management and reimbursement
Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app