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South African Rand is the official currency of South Africa. Its currency symbol is R, ZAR.
There are 12 official languages in South Africa and 35 languages in total, with isiZulu being the most commonly spoken. All official languages are equal in legal status but
English is the primary language used in parliamentary and state discourse.
The population of South Africa is 60.04 million (based on World Bank numbers as of 2021).
In South Africa, there is no set payroll cycle. The payroll cycle is typically stipulated in the employment contract.
To start growing your team in South Africa, you must establish a local entity- including an account with a local bank, a local office and an address registered as a subsidiary.
This allows you to manage payroll, tax, benefits and compliance for your employees, but can take several months.
Emerald can hire and payroll your workers, quickly and compliantly with their ready to go entity. Make growing your team simple with Emerald as a global partner.
Emerald can hire and payroll your workers, quickly and compliantly with their ready to go entity. Make growing your team simple with Emerald as a global partner.
South Africa offers many benefits to organisations that choose to expand there. The country boasts the second largest economy on the continent and is continuing to grow,
making it an attractive prospect for companies and investors.
The high crime rate, skyrocketing unemployment rates and relatively poor infrastructure, however, present a number of challenges and can act as a deterrent to global
businesses.
Many digital nomads and remote workers are relocating to South Africa to live and work as it becomes increasingly popular. The low cost of living compared to other
countries is attractive to remote workers. It is also relatively easy for foreign nationals to move to South Africa, as citizens of 50 countries can live and work in the country
without a visa for up to 90 days.
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Contracts in South Africa must include:
In South Africa, employment contracts can be oral or written, but it is best practice to put a strong, written contract in place, in English, which spells out the terms of the
employee’s compensation, benefits, and termination requirements. An offer letter and employment contract in Country should always state the salary and any compensation
amounts in South African Rand (ZAR) rather than a foreign currency. The general rule in South Africa is that employment contracts are executed for an indefinite duration.
South African labour law prohibits the use of a fixed-term hiring contract for tasks that are permanent in nature. The duration of a fixed-term contract must be clearly
specified between parties if a fixed-term contract is applicable.
There is no set limit for probation periods in South Africa, but they must be deemed reasonable in accordance with the circumstances of the role.
Emerald Technology can onboard employees in South Africa within 48 hours.
Restrictive covenants are enforceable under South African law in principle, assuming that there is a demonstrable proprietary interest, and that the limitations to competition
do not go beyond what is reasonably necessary to protect legitimate business interests. The restraint must be reasonable in nature, duration, and the geographical area in
which the restraint applies. A restraint period of 12 months is generally regarded as reasonable. Employee and customer non-solicitation clauses are also permissible.
Although not compulsory, medical cover is typically paid partly by the employer.
South Africa does not have a social security system in the traditional sense; however, it does have have contributions that are similar to social security. Limited
unemployment insurance and accident or illness benefits are provided. The Unemployment Insurance Fund, which employers contribute to at a rate of 1%, provides
benefits to unemployed people and to dependents of deceased contributors. Employers are also required to make contributions to the Compensation Fund, which was
created under the Compensation for Injuries and Diseases Act to insure employees against industrial accidents or illnesses that result in death or disability, at a rate
determined by the Compensation Commissioner after the employer reports the annual total remuneration of employees.
Pregnant employees have a right to four months’ maternity leave. This is not legally required to be paid. The maternity leave may begin at any time from at least four weeks
before the birth of the baby. There is no specific provision for paternity leave under South African law, but any employee who is the parent of a child is entitled to 10
consecutive days of parental leave.
Employees are entitled to paid sick leave during each 36-month cycle starting from the first day at work. This should be equivalent to the exact number of days that they
usually work in a typical 6-week period. For example, an employee who works five days per week would be entitled to 30 days’ sick leave on full pay. When distributed
across the three years, employees are entitled to an average of 10-12 days’ sick leave.
As the legal employer, Emerald Technology requires the following employee documents to ensure complete compliance:
Employment of Foreign Nationals in South Africa: Foreign nationals that want to work in South Africa must have a valid passport/ID and a work permit. Work permits or temporary visas are issued by the Department of Home Affairs.
Critical skills work visa: This visa is issued for a period that does not exceed five years.
General work visa (or a period not exceeding 5 years): Can be issued in cases where a critical skills visa does not apply, providing that the employer can prove that they have conducted a diligent search and been unable to find a suitable citizen or permanent resident with qualifications or skills and experience equivalent to those of the applicant.)
Intracompany transfer work visa (for a period not exceeding 4 years): Can be issued if an employee is seconded from his or her place of employment abroad to an affiliated company or branch in South Africa, if the foreigner’s employment contract with the company abroad is valid for a period of not less than six months before transfer. These types of visas are non-renewable. The intent of this visa category is that the expatriate transfers his or her skills to South African employees and leave South Africa at the end of the four-year secondment.
Corporate work visa: May be issued to a corporate applicant to employ foreigners to conduct work for the applicant in South Africa.
When an employer dismisses an employee it must be with just cause and they must give them notice. The notice period starts from the day after the employer notifies the employee of the termination. Notice must be given in accordance with the following schedule at a minimum:
| Notice Periods: | Employees or employers may give notice to terminate the employment relationship according to the following schedule: These are the minimum time periods allowed by law and the consent of both parties is required to agree to a shorter notice period. |
If an employee is made redundant, they are entitled to a payment based on years of continuous service.
| Severance Pay: | In terms of severance, an employee who |
Every employee is entitled to 21 consecutive days’ annual leave on full pay in every leave cycle. This equates to 15 working days per annum if the employee works a five-day week, and 18 working days per annum if the employee works a six-day week.
The minimum wage in South Africa is ZAR 23.19 for each ordinary hour worked.
The maximum permissible working week is 45 hours – 9 hours per day over a 5-day week, or 8 hours over a longer week, excluding lunch breaks. Employees may work a
maximum of 3 hours’ overtime per day, up to a maximum of 10 hours per week. Overtime is paid at 1.5x normal rate, and 2x normal rate for Sundays and public holidays.
In South Africa, there is no set payroll cycle. The payroll cycle is typically stipulated in the employment contract, which is to be agreed upon by the employee and employer. The payroll cycle can run monthly, weekly, or bi-weekly.
Though there is no statutory requirement to pay a 13th month salary or Christmas bonus, it is widely paid in practice.
Similar to other countries, South Africa has strict rules on classifying individual contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassifying your workers can put your business at risk of fines.
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