The Minister of Employment & Labour has gazetted an increase to the earnings threshold in section 6(3) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 1997; see attached. The threshold will increase from R211,596.30 per annum // R17.633.02 per month to R224,080.49 per annum // R18,673.33 per month. This change is effective from 1 March 2022.
The primary ramification of the increase in the threshold is that employees earning more than R17.633.02 per month but less than R18,673.33 per month are now entitled to statutory overtime payments. The threshold also impacts an employee’s entitlements to meal breaks, minimum rest periods, night work and public holidays.
There are other implications – this threshold has wide application in a number of statutes and is relevant for issues such as the restriction for fixed-term employment and the jurisdiction for CCMA disputes.
As you might recall, the threshold stayed the same for many years, yet has now been increased in March 2021 and in March 2022.
Please let us know if you would like assistance with updating your employment agreement templates or have any questions about the effect of this change.