and Isabella Keeves, Candidate Attorney

As of 1 April 2025, the annual earnings threshold as stipulated under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (“BCEA”) will increase from R254,371.67 per year to R261,748.45 per year.

This increase has arisen from the recent publication of the Government Gazette on 7 March 2025 by the Minister of Employment and Labour.  A link to the relevant gazette can be found here, Basic Conditions of Employment Act Determination Earnings Threshold 2025.pdf

The annual earnings threshold is a monetary ceiling for employee income and provides that employees that earn above the threshold on an annual basis will be exempt from certain statutory provisions contained within the BCEA.

These statutory provisions are:

• ordinary hours of work (section 9);

• overtime (section 10);

• compressed working weeks (section 11);

• averaging hours of work (section 12);

• meal intervals (section 14);

• daily and weekly rest periods (section 15);

• pay for work on Sundays (section 16);

• pay for night work (section 17(2)); and

• pay for public holidays where the employee works on a day they would not ordinarily work (section 18(3)).

These provisions are of relevance in that they all ultimately provide a limitation on ordinary working hours, overtime hours, and provide for an entitlement to overtime pay, for employees who earn below the threshold.   Employers should keep an eye on this annual threshold amount, as it is changed and updated frequently by the Department of Employment and Labour.