Work hour warning for employers in South Africa

South African employers who are considering changing work hours to avoid the National Minimum Wage hike could find themselves in hot water, as the Department of Labour has vowed to clamp down on non-compliance in 2025.

The department is determined to increase its number of labour inspectors from 2,000 to 20,000, following a rise in labour inspections across various workplaces in 2024.

According to legal experts at Webber Wentzel, the move to boost the inspector workforce is “to enhance the department’s ability to conduct thorough audits and inspections across the country”.

The firm warned that “employers should anticipate greater regulatory scrutiny and enforcement to ensure compliance in 2025”.

“Employers must ensure compliance with the revised minimum wage rates to mitigate the risk of enforcement action. Businesses should review their wage structures…and prepare for increased labour inspections in 2025 within all aspects of their business,” it said.

This echoes calls from labour unions, which have also requested that the department increase its enforcement powers and strengthen the role of labour inspectors—particularly in relation to paying the minimum wage.

The department also warned employers that it is considered an unfair labour practice to unilaterally alter the work hours or any other conditions of employment in implementing the National Minimum Wage as a means to circumvent the NMW.

A recent study from the University of Cape Town found that this was one of the go-to tactics used by employers to avoid the increased costs of the NWM.

A subset of employers respond to the higher NMW by increasing wages, but not to the set level. Other employers responded to the NMW by reducing working hours.

The Department of Labour has emphasised that “every worker is entitled to payment of a wage that is not less than the NMW”.

Failure to comply may result in compliance orders, arbitration claims, fines and other penalties.

The National Minimum Wage will be hiked by 4.4% to R28.79 per hour on 1 March 2025.

The wage translates to a weekly minimum wage of R1,295.55 (45-hour work week) and a monthly minimum of R5,613.62 (4.3 weeks) in most jobs.

Domestic workers

The warnings should be of particular concern to households in South Africa that employ a domestic worker but do not pay the current minimum wage.

While full-time domestic workers should be earning R5,600 per month in 2025, SweepSouth’s 2024 Domestic Worker report howed that the actual average monthly wage was only R3,349 per month for women and R3,059 for men.

This represents a significant gap and underpayment in relation to the National Minimum Wage.

One of the biggest problems that domestic workers face is that the sector is largely informal.

The government has been working hard over the past few years to formalise it, including aligning pay with the NMW, and ensuring that employers are paying UIF and offering workplace protections.

Employers should be warned that, while working for a private household makes department inspections more difficult, it is not impossible.

The department has spent significant time and resources on educating workers of all types on their rights and reporting processes for non-compliance.

Domestic workers have been encouraged to report employers who are abusing the NMW laws.