From 1 May 2026, the BCEA earnings threshold is R269,600.90 a year. If you sign off timesheets, overtime or payroll, this number decides which rules apply to each of your employees. Get it wrong and you could be refusing overtime pay that is legally due, or running the company into a labour dispute.
The new threshold was determined by the Minister of Employment and Labour under section 6(3) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, and published in Government Notice 7384, Government Gazette 54544, on 17 April 2026.
What the earnings threshold does
Employees who earn more than R269,600.90 a year are excluded from certain sections of the BCEA: sections 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17(2) and 18(3). These cover:
- Ordinary working hours
- Overtime
- Compressed working weeks
- Averaging of working hours
- Meal intervals
- Daily and weekly rest periods
- Sunday work
- Night work (including transport and night-shift allowances)
- Pay for work on public holidays that would not ordinarily be worked
Employees who earn less than the threshold keep the full protection of every section of the BCEA.
What counts as “earnings”
For the threshold, earnings means regular annual remuneration before deductions such as income tax, pension and medical aid. It excludes the employer’s own contributions for the employee. Subsistence and transport allowances, achievement awards and overtime pay do not count as remuneration for this purpose.
What to check now
- Employees close to the line. Someone earning just under R269,600.90 a year is fully protected: overtime limits, overtime pay, meal intervals and Sunday pay all apply.
- Contracts and overtime agreements. Make sure they reflect the new figure from 1 May 2026.
- Your compliance wall. The BCEA summary must be displayed where staff can read it, in the languages used at your workplace (section 30).
Have it on your wall: always more
Our English BCEA summary chart already includes the 2026 earnings threshold, plus the Environmental Regulations for Workplaces. That’s three laws on one A1 laminated chart for R395. Or get all three compulsory charts in a compulsory chart pack for R1,500, with the FREE eLegal library worth over R15,000.
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This article is general information, not legal advice.
