What are the payment options for specific hours of work according to the labour law?
In South Africa (SA), wages are generally benchmarked at a monthly or yearly rate. Very few waged workers and salaried professionals would be able to tell you their hourly wage. But it’s also good to know and understand just how much your work is worth per hour.
When it comes to those who are considered unskilled labours those who work primarily with their hands and generally lack training/skills required for other tasks. These types of workers generally have the least amount of capital invested in them and usually receive the lowest wages. Examples include: digging ditches, picking fruit and mopping floors.
These types of workers work long hours at very low wages just to earn a living. Workers who earn very low wages often have only one means of increasing their incomes offering themselves for more and more work. One example is the security industry, where long days comprising 12-hour shifts and more are common.
In the domestic work sector thanks to the introduction of a minimum wage for domestic workers it has led to a reduction in the working hours of domestic workers. Therefore the discussion of working hours is important because there’s evidence in SA that higher minimum wages can lead to a reduction in working hours.
Domestic workers get paid R11.89 to R15.28 p/h.
(The per hour payment options are sourced from MyWage.co.za)
In the retail sector hourly pay includes:
Cashiers R18.56 – R21.17
Assistant managers R31.37 – R36.03
Sales assistant R21.96 – R24.91
Trolley collector R16.14 – R17.36
Forklift operator R16.20 – R18.85
Managers R34.02 – R39.51
Trainee Manager R28.48 – R33.10
Shop assistants, Checker, Merchandiser R17.54 – R19.95
Security guard R17.64
Supervisor R26.64 – R30.64
While skilled or professional labours are individuals with highest level of knowledge-based education and managerial skills. These people have usually invested the most in their careers which makes them the highest wage earners. It includes workers who can operate complex equipment; they can perform their tasks with minimal supervision.
Civil Engineering gets paid R25.18 to R51.28 p/h.
Then for media freelancers their working hours and income per hour rates are used most often. And vary according to job type. Like if interpreting between English and an official African language R400.00 – R500.00p/h etc this according to the South African Freelancers Association payment guidelines.
