What a South African payslip must show
The details a South African employer must put on every payslip under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, and when rates and hours must appear too.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in South Africa
For many small employers, the payslip is an afterthought: a line in a notebook, an SMS with the amount, or a cash envelope with nothing written on it. The money was paid, so what else does the worker need?
Under South African labour law, quite a lot. The payslip is the worker's written record of how their pay was arrived at, and the law sets out what it must contain. A payslip that leaves out the deductions or the pay period is not just untidy; it falls short of a statutory requirement, and it leaves the employer with nothing to point to when a worker later asks why they were paid what they were. This article lists the required details, explains when rates and hours must also appear, says who the rules cover, and shows how Achekam produces and delivers payslips.
The details every payslip must carry
The Department of Employment and Labour's guide to pay slips says that each time workers are paid, the employer must give them a written pay slip showing:
- The employer's name and address.
- The worker's name and occupation.
- The period for which payment is made.
- The total pay.
- Any deductions.
- The actual amount paid.
"Each time workers are paid" matters as much as the list. A weekly-paid worker gets a payslip every week, not one summary at month-end.
"Written" matters too. A verbal explanation, or a message that gives only the net amount, does not meet the requirement. The deductions need to be visible individually, so that the worker can see the difference between the total pay and what actually arrived.
The department's basic guide to pay slips sets out these details and the rates and hours that may also be needed. The page dates from 2012, so treat it as the department's guide to the Act rather than a statement of any later change.
Rates and hours, where they affect the pay
For workers whose pay depends on hours, the list grows. The same guide says that, where relevant to the calculation of pay, a pay slip must also show:
- pay and overtime rates;
- ordinary and overtime hours worked; and
- hours worked on a Sunday or public holiday.
"Where relevant" is the test. A salaried manager whose pay does not change with hours may not need hours on the slip. A waiter paid by the hour, a security guard who worked a public holiday, or a factory worker with overtime certainly does, because without the hours and rates the worker cannot check the total.
A worked example in words
A retail assistant is paid an hourly rate, worked her ordinary hours plus some overtime, and worked one public holiday this month. Her payslip should show the employer's name and address, her name and occupation, the month, her ordinary rate and hours, her overtime rate and hours, the public-holiday hours, the total pay, each deduction and the amount paid into her account. If any of those is missing, she has no way to check the calculation, and neither does anyone else.
Who the rules cover
The guide says the Basic Conditions of Employment Act applies to all employers and workers except members of the National Defence Force, the National Intelligence Agency and the South African Secret Service, and unpaid volunteers working for charity. The guide notes that some of the Act's working-hours provisions also exclude certain workers, such as senior managers; that is a separate question from the payslip.
In other words, domestic workers, farmworkers, part-timers and casual staff are all covered. The government describes the Act as giving effect to the constitutional right to fair labour practices by establishing and regulating basic conditions of employment; the payslip is one of the most visible of those conditions.
Payslips from Achekam with your details
In Achekam, payslips are PDFs with the business's logo and details. The logo, brand colour and company details set under Settings appear on payslips, as they do on tax certificates and EMP201 PDFs.
That makes Settings the first place to look. If the business's address is incomplete there, it will be incomplete on every payslip. Before the first run, check one payslip against the six required details and, for hourly staff, the rates and hours, item by item. Check too that overtime, commission, allowances and similar items entered for the period can be told apart on the slip, so the worker can follow the calculation.
Getting payslips to staff, with proof
A payslip only does its job if the worker receives it. Achekam produces each payslip as a PDF, and payslips can be downloaded or e-mailed one person per message, with a record of every send. An employer setting sends them automatically when a run is approved, with a delivery log; automatic sending is off until it is switched on for that employer. E-mailing needs an e-mail service configured on the server.
Staff who have their own login see their own payslips, IRP5s and leave under HOME, in My Payslips & Leave. Employees without a login receive their payslips by e-mail. For workers without an e-mail address, download the PDF and print it, and keep a note that it was handed over.
The delivery record is worth keeping alongside the payslips themselves; how long payroll records should be kept is covered in payroll records an employer must keep. Accountants who run payroll for clients will find the bureau version of this process in payslips to client staff.
Check one payslip this month
Take this month's payslip for your lowest-paid hourly worker and hold it against the list in this article. If every item is there and the hours and rates explain the total, your payslips do their job. If not, fix the template or the settings before the next pay day.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
