APRIL 2026 – SOUTH AFRICA
BCEA EARNINGS THRESHOLD
It is important that employers note the following:
BCEA earnings threshold increase
The Minister of Employment and Labour has revised the earnings threshold under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) from R261 748.45 to R269 600.90 per annum, effective 1 May 2026. This change was published in Government Gazette No. 54544, Notice No. 7384 of 17 April 2026.
For purposes of the BCEA, earnings means the regular annual remuneration of an employee before deductions for tax, medical aid, retirement fund contributions and similar payments. It excludes similar benefit contributions made by the employer. Subsistence allowances, transport allowances, achievement awards and overtime payments are also excluded.
Employees who earn below the earnings threshold are entitled to the working time protections contained in the BCEA. This includes, for example, entitlement to overtime pay or paid time off in respect of overtime worked.
Chapter 2 of the BCEA regulates working time and deals, among other matters, with:
- the regulation of working hours;
- limits on the duration of an employee’s working week; and
- prescribed rates of pay for work performed outside normal working hours.
Employees who earn in excess of the earnings threshold are excluded from the application of certain provisions of the BCEA, including:
- Section 9 (Ordinary hours of work)
- Section 10 (Overtime)
- Section 11 (Compressed working week)
- Section 12 (Averaging of hours of work)
- Section 14 (Meal intervals)
- Section 15 (Daily and weekly rest period)
- Section 16 (Pay for work on Sundays)
- Section 17(2) (Night work)
- Section 18(3) (Public holidays not ordinarily worked)
To view the government gazette, follow the link.
