Minimum wages · South Africa
Minimum wage South Africa 2026: R30.23 per hour, per day and per month
The national minimum wage is R30.23 an hour from 1 March 2026, the same for farm and domestic workers. On a 45 hour week that's R1,360.35 a week and R5,894.40 a month.
Those are the figures in Government Gazette 54075 of 3 February 2026, and they became binding on 1 March 2026. An 8 hour day comes to R241.84 and a 9 hour day to R272.07. Those day rates are our sums, R30.23 times the hours, because the gazette gives only hourly, weekly and monthly rates. Workers on an expanded public works programme have a lower rate of R16.62 an hour. If you worked full time for R5,894.40 you'd pay no PAYE and R58.94 UIF, and take home R5,835.46.
| Who | Per hour | Per week | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most workers: national minimum wage | R30.23 | R1,360.35 | R5,894.40 |
| Domestic workers | R30.23 | R1,360.35 | R5,894.40 |
| Farm workers | R30.23 | R1,360.35 | R5,894.40 |
| Expanded public works programme | R16.62 | Not printed | Not printed |
| Contract cleaning: Area A, such as Cape Town, Johannesburg and Tshwane | R33.27 | R1,497.15 | R6,487.15 |
| Contract cleaning: rest of the country, except KwaZulu-Natal | R30.33 | R1,364.85 | R5,913.90 |
| Retail, Area A: general assistant, shop security guard | R30.23 | R1,360.35 | R5,894.40 |
| Retail, Area A: cashier | R33.44 | R1,504.80 | R6,520.30 |
| Retail, Area A: clerk, salesperson, baker | R39.36 | R1,771.20 | R7,674.61 |
| Retail, Area A: driver over 16,000 kg | R43.48 | R1,956.60 | R8,477.95 |
| Retail, Area A: supervisor | R48.42 | R2,178.90 | R9,441.17 |
| Retail, Area A: manager | R62.43 | R2,809.35 | R12,172.91 |
Source: Government Gazette 54075, Notice R. 7083. The gazette says its weekly rate is based on a 45 hour week and its monthly rate on 4.333 weeks. Its first schedule gives only the hourly rates, and R1,360.35 and R5,894.40 are what its retail table prints for R30.23. For the public works rate, it gives an hourly figure only. A SARS Budget page gives 2 March as the date, but the gazette fixes 1 March, so we use that.
How much is the minimum wage per day?
R241.84 for 8 hours and R272.07 for 9 hours. Domestic workers who work part time are paid by the hour too, so 5 hours is R151.15, and the rate can't go below R30.23 for any ordinary hour. A week of 40 hours comes to R1,209.20, and with the same 4.333 weeks that's R5,239.46 a month. 20 hours a week comes to R2,619.73 a month. These are our sums from the gazette's hourly rate.
Is it the same for domestic and farm workers?
Yes. The gazette sets R30.23 an hour for farm workers and R30.23 for domestic workers. It's also the floor for people in almost any other job, including a general worker on a building site or in a factory, unless a higher sector rate applies. Your bargaining council may set more, so check your sector.
Are cleaners paid more?
Contract cleaners working for a cleaning company have their own rates: R33.27 an hour in Area A and R30.33 in the rest of the country. Area A covers the City of Cape Town, the Greater East Rand Metro, Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela, and the local councils of Emfuleni, Merafong, Mogale City, Metsimaholo, Randfontein, Stellenbosch and Westonaria. In KwaZulu-Natal, the rates of the contract cleaning bargaining council apply instead, and the gazette doesn't print them.
What about shop workers?
The wholesale and retail table has two area lists and more than a dozen job categories. Area A includes the big metros and many towns, and Area B is everywhere else, with lower rates for some jobs: a cashier in Area B gets at least R30.23 rather than R33.44. The table above uses Area A and the 45 hour column. If you work 27 hours a week or less, the gazette has a separate set of hourly rates, and they're higher. For a cashier in Area A it prints R34.62 under clause 2(3)(b) and R43.29 under clause 2(3)(a). Read pages 6 and 7 of the gazette to see which column covers you.
Does overtime come on top?
Yes. Ordinary hours stop at 45 a week, and overtime pays at least one and a half times your wage. So 5 overtime hours at R30.23 come to R226.73. Sundays pay double unless you normally work Sundays, when they pay one and a half times. Our overtime calculator does these sums for you.
What can I do if I'm paid less?
Keep your payslips and write down your hours. Ask your employer in writing to correct it. If that doesn't work, go to your nearest Labour Centre of the Department of Employment and Labour for help, which is free. Learnerships have their own allowances, set out in our learnership stipend page. Nobody should ask you to pay to get a job at any wage.
Sources
Checked 2 November 2026. Each figure keeps the period and scope of its source.
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