These are the top employers in South Africa in 2024 – with a new number one

There are over 2,300 companies around the world that have a certified ‘Top Employer’ status – with 136 of them currently operating in South Africa.

The Top Employers Institute says that to become recognised as a Top Employer, companies must “be at the forefront of people practices.” “These organisations undergo a rigorous process to assess and validate their policies, and conditions adhere or exceed industry best practices,” said the institute.

Organisations that have over 250 employees are eligible to be evaluated according to entry level criteria, and then need to participate in the HR Best Practice Survey.

The evaluation process is based on 20 topics; including people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing.

Additionally, the evaluation process does the following:

• Validation of the provided answers and supplemental proof.
• Review of the consolidated results.
• Independent external audit of the certification process.
• Objective scoring based on the final results.

In 2024, Vodacom Group was ranked by the Top Employers Institute as the continent’s top employer.

This came at a certification dinner earlier this month. While the company has been listed as a Top Employer for seven consecutive years prior (2017-2023), this is the first time the company has attained first position in the overall Top Employer for Africa and South Africa.

Vodacom Group CEO, Shameel Joosub said, “It is an honour to be recognised as the Top Employer on the continent,” saying that this can largely be attributed to “initiatives that ensure our employees remain engaged, boosting morale and cultivating a progressive and effective organisational culture”.

There are also certificates of excellence awarded to some international companies in regard to employee conditions.

“In order to achieve Global Top Employer status, these organisations are certified as Regional Top Employers in a minimum number of countries and regions. They must also be certified in the country where their international headquarters are based,” the Top Employers Institute said.

Several of these companies also have operations in South Africa, including:

• Airbus Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd
• BAT South Africa
• CHEP South Africa (Pty) Ltd
• DHL International (Pty) Ltd t/a DHL Express
• Dimension Data South Africa
• HCL Technologies (Pty) Ltd
• JTI South Africa
• PepsiCo South African
• Philip Morris
• Puma South Africa
• Saint-Gobain Construction Products South Africa (Pty) Ltd
• Tata Consultancy Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd

A comprehensive ranking system for South African employers has not been released by the Top Employers Institute – neither has it been obtained through communication.

However, the full list of the 137 certified Top Employers in South Africa (in no particular order) are:

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