Minimum Wage Regulations 2021
BREAKING NEWS: TERS (2020/11/04)
2020-11-042021 Skills Development Submissions
2021-02-18On 8 February 2021, the Minister of Labour and Employment passed new regulations increasing the minimum wage with effect from 1 March 2021. As was the case last year, this regulation governs the minimum wages for:
- All employees who do not fall into specific categories listed below (including casual employees)
- Farm Workers
- Domestic Workers
- Workers employed in Public Works Schemes (cleaning verges Parks, Cemeteries etc.)
- Learners
The Regulations also provide new minimum wages for
- Contract Cleaners
- Employees in the Wholesale and Retail Industries.
The increase in the minimum wage is 4.48% and both the Contract Cleaning and Wholesale and Retail Industries minimum wages have also increased wages by this percentage. However, there have been substantial increases at the other levels. See table below:
Minimum Wages 2021
| Category of employee | Hourly Rate 2020 | Hourly Rate 2021 | Increase Amount | Percent Increase | New Monthly salary (45hrs per week) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Wage | R 20.76 | R 21.69 | R 0.93 | 4.48% | R 4 266.30 |
| Farmworkers Wage | R 18.68 | R 21.69 | R 3.01 | 16.11% | R 4 226.30 |
| Domestic Workers | R 15.57 | R 19.09 | R 3.52 | 22.61% | R 3 719.69 |
| Public Work Employees | R 11.42 | R 11.93 | R 0.51 | 4.47% | R 2 324.56 |
| Contract Cleaners | R 22.84 | R 23.87 | R 1.03 | 4.51 % | R 4 651.07 |
Learner Level 1 – 2
| Credit amount | Weekly RATE 2020 | WEEKLY RATE 2021 | INCREASE AMOUNT | PERCENT INCREASE | NEW MONTHLY SALARY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 -120 Credits | R 312.45 | R 326.51 | R 14.06 | 4.50% | R 1 413.79 |
| 121 – 240 Credits | R 624.87 | R 652.99 | R 28.12 | 4.50% | R 2 827.45 |
Learner Level 3
| Credit amount | Weekly RATE 2020 | WEEKLY RATE 2021 | INCREASE AMOUNT | PERCENT INCREASE | NEW MONTHLY SALARY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 -120 Credits | R 312.45 | R 326.51 | R 14.06 | 4.50% | R 1 413.79 |
| 121 – 240 Credits | R 558.47 | R 614.95 | R 56.48 | 10.1% | R 2 662.73 |
| 341 – 360 Credits | R 963.38 | R 1003.73 | R 40.35 | 4.19% | R 4 346.15 |
Learner Level 4
| Credit amount | Weekly RATE 2020 | WEEKLY RATE 2021 | INCREASE AMOUNT | PERCENT INCREASE | NEW MONTHLY SALARY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 -120 Credits | R 312.45 | R 326.51 | R 14.06 | 4.50% | R 1 413.79 |
| 121 – 240 Credits | R 624.93 | R 653.05 | R 28.12 | 4.50% | R 2 827.71 |
| 341 – 360 Credits | R 963.38 | R 1006.73 | R 43.35 | 4.50% | R 4 359.14 |
| 361 – 480 Credits | R 1 405.98 | R 1 496.25 | R 90.27 | 6.42% | R 6 478.76 |
Learner Level 5 – 8
| Credit amount | Weekly RATE 2020 | WEEKLY RATE 2021 | INCREASE AMOUNT | PERCENT INCREASE | NEW MONTHLY SALARY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 -120 Credits | R 312.45 | R 326.51 | R 14.06 | 4.50% | R 1 413.79 |
| 121 – 240 Credits | R 676.93 | R 707.39 | R 30.46 | 4.50% | R 3 063.00 |
| 341 – 360 Credits | R 1 012.83 | R 1 058.41 | R 45.58 | 4.50% | R 4 582.92 |
| 361 – 480 Credits | R 1 426.85 | R 1 491.06 | R 64.21 | 4.50% | R 6 456.29 |
| 481 – 600 Credits | R 1 822.56 | R 1 904.58 | R 82.02 | 4.50% | R 8 246.83 |
The intention always was to bring domestic workers and farmworkers up to the national minimum wage within a four-to-five-year period, hence the large increase in the minimum level now.
It is to be noted that there is no requirement to implement an increase if the employee is already earning more than the minimum salary.