Review incompleteLabour-law reference
Some source checks, rows or fields remain unresolved. This is not a whole-dataset current verification.
- Period / scope
- 2026 statutory reference
- Whole-dataset check
- Checked 11 Aug 2026
Some source checks, rows or fields remain unresolved. This is not a whole-dataset current verification.
Evidence status is dataset-family level. Row-level and field-level source labels still control where they are more specific.
Every South African worker has rights. This tool helps you understand them, check if you are being underpaid, and report employers who break the law.
2026 legal update: From 1 May 2026, specified BCEA working-time protections do not automatically apply to employees earning above R269 900,90 per year. The current parental-leave position follows the Constitutional Court interim order: at least four consecutive months for a single or only-employed parent, or four months and ten days shared in aggregate where both parents are employed.
Draft-law status: As of 21 July 2026, public comments had closed and the Department was refining the broad labour-law amendment bills, with a stated target of 2028 for promulgation. These proposals are not treated as enacted law here. DoEL July 2026 status
Benefit-fund contributions: A January 2026 notice withdrew the long-standing exclusion from section 34A enforcement, requiring strict and timeous payment of employee and employer contributions to benefit funds such as pension, provident, retirement and medical-aid funds. DoEL source
General legal information, not legal advice. Sectoral determinations, bargaining-council rules, collective agreements and individual facts can change how a rule applies. DoEL threshold source · Constitutional Court source
Every worker in South Africa is entitled to at least R30.23 per hour (from 1 March 2026). Domestic workers: R30.23/hour. Farm workers: R30.23/hour. Your employer cannot pay you less than this — it is illegal.
For employees covered by the BCEA working-time provisions: ordinary hours are capped at 45 per week, with a maximum of 9 hours per day on a 5-day-or-fewer week or 8 hours per day when working more than 5 days. Overtime must be agreed and is generally paid at 1.5×. Sunday work is paid at 2× if you do not ordinarily work Sundays, or 1.5× if Sunday is part of your ordinary schedule. From 1 May 2026, specified working-time provisions do not automatically apply above the BCEA earnings threshold of R269,900.90 per year.
Annual leave: 21 consecutive days per annual cycle. Sick leave: up to 30 days over a 3-year sick-leave cycle for a 5-day worker. Eligible employees receive 3 paid family-responsibility days per annual cycle for a sick child or the death of specified close family members; birth of a child is no longer a section 27 family-responsibility-leave event. Under the Constitutional Court interim order, a single parent or only employed parent gets at least 4 consecutive months of parental leave; where both parents are employed, they share an aggregate of 4 months and 10 days, subject to birth-parent protections.
Your employer must give you a payslip every time you are paid. It must show: employer name and address, your name and job, pay period, gross pay, all deductions, and net pay. Refusing to give a payslip is illegal.
You must receive a written contract or letter of appointment. It must include: job description, working hours, pay, leave, and notice period. Verbal agreements are legally valid but much harder to enforce.
Your employer must register qualifying employees for UIF and deduct 1% from covered remuneration while also contributing 1%. UIF may provide benefits for unemployment, illness and qualifying parental or birth-related claims. Leave entitlement and UIF benefit entitlement are separate questions, so check the current UIF claim rules for your situation.
If you work for a platform (Uber, Bolt, Mr D, Checkers Sixty60) and are treated like an employee (set hours, rules, uniform, discipline), you may legally be an employee — not a contractor. You may be entitled to minimum wage, leave, and UIF.
Your employer must have a fair reason and follow a fair process to dismiss you. You must be heard before being dismissed. If dismissed unfairly, you have 30 days to refer the dispute to the CCMA — it is free.