NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE
The Department of Employment and Labour has gazetted the new National Minimum Wage, effective 1 March 2026.
Please take note of the following:
- The statutory National Minimum Wage will be R30.23 per ordinary hour of work.
- This reflects a 5% increase of R1.44 from R28.79 to R30.23.
- The new hourly wage equates to R1 360.35 for a typical 45-hour workweek, with a minimum monthly wage of R5 894.85 (based on a 195-hour month).
- General workers, Domestic workers and Farm workers are all entitled to R30.23 per hour.
- Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers are entitled to R16.62 per hour.
- Workers who have concluded learnership agreements, as contemplated in section 17 of the Skills Development Act, 1998 (Act No. 97 of 1998), are entitled to the allowances contained in Schedule 2 of the Government Gazette.
- Certain industries have differentiating guidelines, and it is advised to consult the Government Gazette for the updated minimum wages specifically for the Contract Cleaning and the Wholesale and Retail Sectors.
Please view the Government Gazette for further details.
SARS KILOMETER RATE
The standard tax-free rate per kilometer for travel is R4.95 (495 cents), effective for reimbursive travel from 1 March 2026. The new rate replaces the previous rate of R4.76. This tax-free rate applies when an employee is reimbursed for business travel using their private vehicle and covers fuel, maintenance and wear-and-tear.
Source Reference:
Gazette No. 11941