Dr Samantha Smith is STBB's chief Content Writer and Legal Editor. She graduated with a BSocSci, LLB, LLM, and PhD (Law) from the University of Cape Town. Skilled in socio-legal analysis, critical thinking, and creative and technical writing, she previously worked in investigative legal research, with a special focus on animal law and environmental policy. As of February 2024, Samantha handles all STBB content. This includes brainstorming and writing all social media, newsflashes, newsletters, digital and print advertisements, magazine articles, and all webinar and podcast write-ups. Additionally, she attends to tenders and proposals, legal updates and presentations, biographies, brochures, information sheets, content for special projects, and various other digital publications and communications.

Newsflash | Labour law update: New minimum wage kicks in next month

Yesterday, the Minister of Employment and Labour gazetted an amendment to Schedules 1 and 2 of the National Minimum Wage Act.

Effective 1st March 2025, the national minimum wage will increase from R27.58 per hour to R28.79 per hour, which reflects an increase of approximately 4.4%.

Designed to safeguard vulnerable workers from unreasonably low wages through the implementation of a baseline across (most) sectors, the minimum rate payable to domestic workers and farmworkers aligns with the national minimum wage.

There, are, however, some sectoral exceptions. For instance, workers employed on expanded public works projects must earn a minimum of R15.83 per hour while those engaged in learnership agreements under the Skills Development Act will receive varying minimum weekly allowances, depending on their skill set.

Notably, employers in the wholesale and retail sectors are required to increase their minimum rates in line with the new national minimum wage while those in the contract cleaning sector must pay their employees a minimum of R31.69 per hour in metropolitan areas and R28.79 per hour in rural regions, respectively.

Crucially, the national minimum wage excludes allowances paid to enable employees to work, namely transport and equipment costs, payment in kind, such as board or accommodation, and tips, bonuses, and food.

Against the backdrop of a growing body of employment law requirements and labour-related jurisprudence, it is imperative for business owners to comply with all aspects of the prevailing legal framework to avoid workplace disputes, unwanted legal action, and reputational damage.

With this in mind, STBB’s specialists have the experience and expertise to advise on extensive labour and employment-related matters. This includes, but is not limited to, reviewing entities’ current policies and practices, mediating large-scale collective bargaining and annual wage negotiations, facilitating the practical restructuring of operational requirements post-mergers, chairing in-house disciplinary matters, conducting presentations on applicable laws and sectoral determinations, and ensuring compliance with B-BBEE requirements.

For expert legal advice, contact us at labour@stbb.co.za.

Interested in exploring more of our labour-related publications? Read here.

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