Minimum wage 2026 in South Africa: rates by sector

The national minimum wage is R30.23 for every ordinary hour worked, from 1 March 2026. That is R241.84 for an eight-hour day, R1,360.35 for a 45-hour week and R5,894.40 a month on the Department of Employment and Labour's 4.333-week month. Domestic workers and farm workers are on the same R30.23. The only lower rate is R16.62 an hour for workers on a government Expanded Public Works Programme, and learners on a registered learnership get a weekly allowance instead.

Those figures come from Government Gazette 54075 of 3 February 2026, which the Minister of Employment and Labour signed under the National Minimum Wage Act. The rate went up from R28.79, a 5% rise, and the next increase is due on 1 March 2027.

If you employ people in retail, contract cleaning or private security, R30.23 may not be your number. Those sectors have their own wage tables, and many of the jobs in them pay more than the national floor. The sector-by-sector rates are below, after the rules that apply to everyone.

Govchain registers your company as an employer with SARS and the Unemployment Insurance Fund so the first payslip is legal from day one. The wage itself is your decision, and this post is about getting that decision right.

What counts as the wage, and what does not

The minimum wage is money for ordinary hours. Section 5 of the National Minimum Wage Act says the calculation excludes:

Any payment made so the worker can work: transport, equipment, tool, food or accommodation allowances.
Payment in kind, including board or accommodation.
Gratuities, which covers bonuses, tips and gifts.

So a waiter who earns R18 an hour plus tips is underpaid, however good the tips are. A domestic worker who gets a room and meals is still owed R30.23 an hour in money. The domestic workers' sectoral determination allows one deduction, up to 10% of the wage for a room that meets its standards, and none for food. Overtime, Sunday and public-holiday premiums are paid on top, at the Basic Conditions of Employment Act rates.

Two more rules catch small employers:

The four-hour minimum. Section 9A of the BCEA says a worker who works less than four hours on any day must be paid for four hours. A casual who comes in for a two-hour lunch shift costs you R120.92 for the day, not R60.46. The rule applies to anyone earning under the BCEA earnings threshold, which is R269,600.90 a year from 1 May 2026. One gap: section 9A sits in the BCEA's working-time chapter, which section 6 switches off for anyone who works for you less than 24 hours in a month, so a very occasional casual may fall outside it.
It cannot be contracted away. Section 4(6) says the minimum wage cannot be waived and overrides any contract, collective agreement or sectoral determination that pays less. A signed contract at R25 an hour is simply unlawful, and the employee can claim the shortfall.

Piece work and commission do not escape it either. If you pay per unit or per sale, the total must still come to at least R30.23 for every hour worked.

Which workers are on the full rate

Everyone, with three exceptions. Since 2022 domestic workers have been on 100% of the national minimum wage, and farm workers have been there since 2021. Hospitality, taxi, forestry and farm work all have older sectoral determinations that still govern hours and leave, but none of them was given a separate 2026 wage table in the gazette, so a restaurant cook, a kitchen porter and a taxi driver all have R30.23 as their floor.

The exceptions:

Expanded Public Works Programme workers: R16.62 an hour. This applies only to government EPWP projects, not to a private business that happens to do public work.
Learnerships: a learner on a registered learnership under section 17 of the Skills Development Act gets a weekly allowance set by NQF level and credits already earned. Every learner starts at R455 a week with 0 to 120 credits. The top of the table is R2,654.04 a week for an NQF 5 to 8 learner with 481 to 600 credits. A learner who has already banked 121 to 240 credits is on R909.94 (NQF 1 to 2), R856.94 (NQF 3), R910.04 (NQF 4) or R985.76 (NQF 5 to 8).
Employers with an exemption: covered at the end of this post. It is temporary and partial, not a way out.

Wholesale and retail: the sector with its own table

Sectoral Determination 9 covers shops, wholesalers, and anyone selling goods to the public or to other businesses, from a spaza shop to a hardware store. The 2026 tables in the same gazette set a rate for 15 job categories in two areas. Area A is a long list of metros and larger municipalities, including Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Mangaung, Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay, Msunduzi, Stellenbosch, Drakenstein, George, Knysna, Mossel Bay, Sol Plaatje and Potchefstroom. Area B is everywhere else.

These are the full-time hourly rates (the column for employees working more than 27 hours a week), with the monthly figure on a 45-hour week:

General assistant, trolley collector, security guard, forklift operator, driver under 3,500 kg: R30.23 an hour, R5,894.40 a month, in both areas.
Merchandiser, shop assistant, checker, deli assistant: R30.23 in both areas.
Cashier: Area A R33.44 an hour, R6,520.30 a month. Area B R30.23.
Clerk, sales assistant, sales person, blockman, baker: Area A R39.36 (R7,674.61 a month). Area B R34.68 (R6,762.08).
Driver 3,501 to 9,000 kg: Area A R36.35. Area B R30.23.
Driver 9,001 to 16,000 kg: Area A R39.56. Area B R37.62.
Driver over 16,000 kg: Area A R43.48. Area B R41.37.
Displayer: Area A R40.87. Area B R33.55.
Supervisor: Area A R48.42 (R9,441.17 a month). Area B R42.09 (R8,206.92).
Trainee manager: Area A R52.30. Area B R45.00.
Assistant manager: Area A R56.92. Area B R49.56.
Manager: Area A R62.43 (R12,172.91 a month). Area B R53.75 (R10,480.44).

The job title in the contract does not decide the category. What the person actually does, does. A "general assistant" who runs the till all day is a cashier.

Part-timers on 27 hours a week or less have their own two columns, and this is where retail employers get caught. Without a written agreement, a part-time cashier in Area A is paid at least R34.62 an hour, which is more than the full-time rate, not less. If the employee has signed a clause 10 agreement under the determination, the gazette's higher column applies, R43.29 for that cashier. In exchange the employee gives up paid sick leave, family responsibility leave and the night-work allowance, and gets two weeks' paid annual leave instead of three. The higher rate is the price of that trade, not a bonus. The uplift is not the same for every job, so check the gazette table for the category before you set a part-time rate: a general assistant on an agreement is R35.53 in Area A and R33.17 in Area B.

Contract cleaning: three areas, two rates

Sectoral Determination 1 covers businesses that clean other people's premises under contract. The 2026 rates are:

Area A: R33.27 an hour, R1,497.15 a week, R6,487.15 a month. Area A is the metros of Cape Town, the East Rand, Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay, plus Emfuleni, Merafong, Mogale City, Metsimaholo, Randfontein, Stellenbosch and Westonaria.
Area B: all of KwaZulu-Natal, where the rate is set by the Bargaining Council for the Contract Cleaning Service Industry, not by the gazette.
Area C: the rest of the country, R30.33 an hour, R1,364.85 a week, R5,913.90 a month.

The gazette adds a warning aimed at the people who hire cleaning companies. A client that contracts a cleaning business at a price that makes the minimum wage impossible to pay can be held liable under section 200B of the Labour Relations Act. If you are the cleaning contractor, that clause is worth quoting when a landlord pushes the price down. Our guide to starting a cleaning company covers the rest of the set-up.

Private security: the bargaining council sets it

Security is different. There is no gazetted sectoral table for 2026. Wages come from the Main Collective Agreement of the National Bargaining Council for the Private Security Sector, which the Minister has extended to every employer in the sector. Its circular of 8 February 2026 gives the year 4 rates for 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027, as monthly salaries:

Areas 1 and 2 (the major magisterial districts, from Johannesburg, Tshwane and Durban to Bloemfontein, Gqeberha, Kimberley, Paarl and Stellenbosch): Grade A security officer R8,184, Grade B R7,607, Grades C, D and E R7,003. A general worker or a clerical assistant is on R6,424.
Area 3 (everywhere else): Grade A R7,142, Grades B to E R6,726, general worker R6,424.

The circular gives hourly equivalents (R33.67 for a Grade C officer in Area 1), but says plainly that the hourly figure is not to be used to calculate the basic salary. The monthly amount is the minimum. On top of it, both employer and employee pay 7.5% of salary into the Private Security Sector Provident Fund, and there are shift allowances: R10.50 a shift for armed, mobile-supervisor, control-room and dog-handler duties, R8 a shift for night work, and a R32 a month cleaning allowance.

A one-van security start-up with two Grade C guards in Pretoria is therefore budgeting R14,006 in salaries plus R1,050 in employer provident contributions before UIF, COID and PSIRA fees. If you are at that stage, our guide to starting a security company covers the PSIRA registration that has to come first.

What one minimum-wage employee costs a month

Take a two-person coffee shop in Paarl. Hospitality has no 2026 sectoral table, so the barista is on the national rate.

Wage: 45 hours a week at R30.23 is R1,360.35 a week, R5,894.40 a month.
UIF: 1% from the employee (R58.94, deducted) and 1% from you (R58.94, on top). Total cost to you: R5,953.34.
PAYE: none. R5,894.40 a month is R70,732.80 a year, well under the 2026/27 tax threshold, so no tax is withheld. SARS only requires you to register for PAYE once someone on the payroll earns above the threshold. Until then, UIF is registered and paid directly with the Unemployment Insurance Fund on uFiling. You can register with SARS early, and you need to if you want the Employment Tax Incentive below.
COID: an annual assessment from the Compensation Fund. Restaurants and coffee shops are in tariff class C at 0.81% of payroll, about R573 on this wage, but the minimum assessment for a business was R1,621 for 2025/26, so a one-employee shop pays the minimum. Our COIDA calculator works it out for your payroll once you register for COID.
Skills Development Levy: none. SDL only starts when your total payroll passes R500,000 a year.

Now add a casual who covers the lunch rush from 12:00 to 14:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. That is about 26 hours a month, over the 24-hour line where UIF and the BCEA's working-time rules start. Two hours at R30.23 is R60.46, but section 9A makes each shift R120.92. Thirteen shifts a month comes to R1,571.96, plus UIF.

If the barista is 18 to 29, you can claim the Employment Tax Incentive for hiring her, but only if you are registered for PAYE and pay at least the minimum wage. It is claimed on the EMP201, and when there is no PAYE to set it against, SARS pays the unused amount out at the twice-yearly reconciliation, provided your tax affairs are in order. ETI is a reward for paying the floor, not a reason to go under it.

What happens if you pay less than the minimum wage

Underpayment is not a civil disagreement between you and the worker. Three things can happen, and they stack.

The worker claims the shortfall. Section 73A of the BCEA lets an employee earning under the threshold refer a claim for unpaid wages straight to the CCMA, at no cost. If conciliation fails, the CCMA arbitrates and can order you to pay what is owed.
A labour inspector issues a compliance order. The Department of Employment and Labour inspects on complaint and on its own routine visits. The order sets a deadline to pay what is owed.
A fine under section 76A of the BCEA. For a first failure to pay the minimum wage, the fine that can be imposed is the greater of twice the underpayment or twice the employee's monthly wage. For a second or further failure it is three times. The department must also publish a quarterly list of employers issued with compliance orders.

Worked through: a restaurant that paid a kitchen porter R25 an hour instead of R30.23 for 195 hours a month, for a year, is R12,238 short. The fine that can be imposed on a first offence is twice that, R24,476, on top of the R12,238 back pay. For one employee.

Can a small employer get an exemption?

Yes, but it is narrower than most owners expect. Section 15 of the National Minimum Wage Act lets an employer apply for an exemption. The rules that go with it:

Consult first. Every trade union representing your staff, or the affected workers themselves if there is no union, must be consulted before you apply, and must get a copy of the application.
Apply online through the department's National Minimum Wage exemption system at nmw.labour.gov.za, or at a labour centre.
Prove you cannot afford it. The department asks a business for three years of financial statements: the current year's forecast and the two previous years. It also checks that you are up to date with UIF and the Compensation Fund.
Accept the limits. An exemption runs from the date of application for at most 12 months, and it states the wage you must pay instead. The exemption regulations set a floor of 90% of the minimum wage, so the best case is R27.21 an hour, for a year, and then you reapply.

An exemption can be withdrawn if the information was false, if you break its conditions, or if the department decides you can afford the wage after all. For most small employers the honest conclusion is that the exemption is not worth the paperwork. Pay the floor and price it into the business.

What to budget for 1 March 2027

The National Minimum Wage Commission reviews the rate every year and recommends an increase to the Minister, who gazettes the new figure in early February for 1 March. The 2026 increase was set at consumer price inflation plus 1.5%, which came to 5%. The commission opened comments on the 2027 adjustment in August 2026 and the recommendation goes to the Minister later this year. A CPI-plus increase in the same range would put the 2027 rate somewhere above R31.50 an hour. Budget on that, and check the gazette in February.

Common mistakes

Counting tips, food or a room as wages. Section 5 excludes all of them. Pay the hourly rate in money and treat the rest as a benefit on top.
Paying a casual for the hours worked when it is under four. A two-hour shift is paid as four. If you need someone for two hours, the four-hour minimum is the real cost.
Using the national rate in a retail shop. A cashier in Cape Town is R33.44, a sales assistant R39.36, a supervisor R48.42. In Area A the R30.23 figure only covers the bottom five categories, from general assistant to shop assistant.
Setting a monthly salary from the 40-hour figure for a 45-hour job. R5,239.46 is the 40-hour month. Someone working 45 hours a week is owed R5,894.40, and a shortfall of R655 a month is still underpayment.
Taking a wage line from last year's post or a payslip template. The rate moves every March. Anything showing R28.79 is out of date.

FAQ

What is the minimum wage per month in South Africa in 2026?

R5,894.40 for a 45-hour week and R5,239.46 for a 40-hour week, using the department's 4.333 weeks a month. For a worker on 160 hours a month it is R4,836.80. The law sets the rate per hour, so the monthly figure follows the hours in the contract.

Does the minimum wage apply to part-time and casual workers?

Yes. R30.23 applies to every ordinary hour, whether the worker does 45 hours a week or five. Casuals also get the four-hour daily minimum, though someone who works for you less than 24 hours a month may fall outside it. Retail part-timers on 27 hours or fewer have their own higher columns in the Sectoral Determination 9 table.

Can I pay a domestic worker less if I provide food and accommodation?

Not for food. Domestic workers are on the full R30.23 an hour, meals do not count toward it, and you may not deduct for them. A room is the one exception: the domestic workers' sectoral determination lets you deduct up to 10% of the wage for accommodation, with the worker's written agreement, if the room is weatherproof and in good condition, has a window and a door that locks, and has a toilet and a bath or shower or access to one. On a 40-hour week the wage is R5,239.46 a month, so the most you can deduct is R523.95.

Is the minimum wage different for a sole proprietor than for a company?

No. The National Minimum Wage Act applies to every employer, from a one-person sole proprietorship hiring a first assistant to a listed company. The registration duties are the same too: UIF and COID from the first employee, and PAYE with SARS once anyone earns above the tax threshold.

Register as an employer before the first payslip

The wage is set by law. The registrations that make it legal to pay it are the part Govchain does. We register your company for PAYE and UIF with SARS, get your UIF reference so the 1% contributions land in the right place, and handle COID registration so you can get a Letter of Good Standing when a client asks for it. Once those are in place, our guide to doing payroll in South Africa walks through the monthly EMP201 and the employment contract every worker must have.