Business

These are South Africa’s 8 best employers

Luke Fraser

 ·12 Oct 2025

Standard Bank has been named as the best employer in South Africa, while seven other South African companies have been named among the best in the world.

This is according to Forbes’ annual ranking of the World’s Best Employers, which has ranked 900 companies globally.

To determine the list, Forbes partnered with a market research firm, Statista, to survey over 300,000 employers in over 50 countries. 

Employees from companies with over 1,000 people were asked if they would recommend their employer, and rated the company on salary, career progression, work-life balance and company reputation. 

The responses were then tallied and put through a scoring system that included data from three prior years, with a heavier weight given to more recent data. 

Globally, Microsoft was named the best employer in the world. In South Africa, Standard Bank was the best, claiming 28 in the world. 

“Standard Bankers are deeply committed to our purpose and to the people we serve,” said Sim Tshabalala, Chief Executive at the Standard Bank Group. 

“This prestigious recognition by Forbes, for the fourth year, is a testament to our 54,000 people, their unwavering commitment and their impact on sustainable growth throughout Africa”.    

The latest recognition came after Standard Bank was named in TIME Magazine’s World’s Best Companies and Newsweek’s World’s Most Trustworthy Companies for 2025.  

“Our people are our greatest source of sustainable competitive advantage, added Sharon Taylor, Chief People and Culture Officer at Standard Bank Group. 

“We are committed to their growth and, in turn, they are the driving force behind the growth of our clients and the continent.” 

Other South African companies make the cut 

Several other South African companies ranked by Forbes, with banks claiming the top three spots. 

Nedbank came in second place in South Africa, with a global ranking of 49. This was followed by Absa, which came 97th worldwide. 

Telecommunications giant MTN was rated the fourth-best company worldwide and the best non-bank company. It came 166th globally. 

Chemical and packaging company SAPPI came in fifth for South Africa, with a global ranking of 289. 

Next was petrochemical giant Sasol, which, despite being one of the world’s largest polluters, was ranked 374th globally. 

Hospital group, Mediclinic, was then ranked 425th globally, taking the seventh-best spot in South Africa. 

The final South African company to crack Forbes’ 900 best companies was Adcorp, a recruitment company that also operates out of Australia.