Employer of Record in South Africa

In a country with one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, South Africa nevertheless has a paradox: a shortage of skilled labour. This situation opens the door to opportunities for foreign experts. In this context, wage portage is emerging as a flexible and attractive solution, enabling highly qualified professionals to contribute to the South African economy. However, this process requires a number of administrative formalities to be completed, including obtaining a work permit, thus offering a route to sustainable professional integration.

What is Employer of Record ?

There are three parties to EOR : the administration company, the client company and the candidate employee. Salveo South Africa acts as a mediator between employee and employer, dealing with the legal and regulatory aspects of immigration, employment and remuneration. However, it is important to note that this company provides shared management, particularly on the administrative side, for the employee’s position. The initial employer or the client company remains responsible for the major decisions concerning the content of the job, its development and remuneration, which it then shares with the umbrella company.

The advantages of EOR in South Africa

There are three main advantages:

Freelance administration can also be a more accessible way of entering the local labour market without having to set up a legal entity or obtain complex work visas.
Freelance workers often enjoy certain social benefits, such as health insurance and pension contributions, which can provide a degree of financial security.
In addition, for professionals working with international clients, wage portage can facilitate invoicing and payment across borders, by taking care of the tax and regulatory aspects of cross-border transactions.

Why choose Salveo to support you in this process?

As a member of the ADIT GroupSalveo presents itself as your trusted and experienced partner to support you in your development in South Africa. With a team of French-speaking local specialists and more than three decades of experience, we have helped many companies manage their staff in South Africa.

Our experts can provide you with comprehensive human resources management solutions tailored to any business, and offer you a wide range of freelance administration services, including :

Drawing up contracts that comply with local employment legislation,
Assistance in obtaining work and residence permits, particularly for foreign employees,
Complete payroll management, including issuing pay slips,
Regular processing of declarations and payments of social security contributions and income tax,
Careful monitoring of paid leave,
Effective management of business expenses,
Assistance with all aspects of the end-of-contract process,
Expert support for all your questions relating to employment law and employee contracts.

In addition, we offer a range of optional services, such as recruiting new employees, providing accommodation in our business centres and managing the international mobility of your staff, including finding accommodation, enrolling children in school, renting vehicles and much more.

Essential information you need to know

The industrial sectors that are recruiting the most

The industrial sectors that are recruiting the most :
Agriculture
The car
Building and public works
The trade
Telecommunications
Energy
Finance and banking
Legal services
Transport and communications

Sectors affected by the shortage of candidates according to the “critical skills” list drawn up in 2021 by the South African government

The architects
The chefs
Management controllers
Accountants
Electricians
Teachers in higher and scientific education
Company managers and secretaries
Web designers

The most densely populated and economically prolific geographical areas to focus on

Johannesburg, economic capital
Pretoria, administrative capital
Durban, the most important port in South Africa
Cape Town, home to start-ups and high-tech companies

Working hours

The legal working week is 45 hours, with or without Saturdays. Overtime is limited to 10 hours a week, with 150% extra pay on weekdays and 200% on weekends and public holidays. NB: employees earning more than 205,433 are not entitled to a pension. 30 ZAR (EUR 12,250) per year are not entitled to this increase.

Paid holidays

After working for an employer for a continuous period of one year, employees are entitled to 21 consecutive days’ paid holiday per year. In addition, unused paid holiday can be accumulated in subsequent years.

Public holidays in 2024

1^st January	New Year’s Day
21 March	Human Rights Day
Between the end of March and the end of April	Good Friday
18 April	Family Day
27 April	Freedom Day
1^st May	Labour Day
16 June	Youth Day
9 August	National Women’s Day
24 September	Heritage Day
16 December	Day of Reconciliation
25th December	Christmas Day
26th December	Goodwill Day

Minimum wage

The minimum wage is set at ZAR 23.19 (around EUR 1.40) per hour, and the pay cycle depends on the agreement between employer and employee. In addition, the 13^th month bonus is common but not compulsory.

Termination of employment contract by employer

The employer may terminate an employment contract by giving notice, which is generally determined by the employee’s length of service. Notice periods vary but can be at least one week for employees who have worked less than six months, and at least one month for employees who have worked more than six months.

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