What Must Be in Writing in a South African Employment Contract?

Section 29 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act requires every employer to give each employee written particulars of employment when they start work: 16 items covering the employer's details, job description, workplace, hours, wage and how it is calculated, overtime rate, deductions, leave and notice. Even a business with fewer than five employees must supply nearly all of them.

Below: the full checklist, the two 2026 numbers every contract must respect, and the fixed-term rule that quietly converts "temporary" staff into permanent employees.

"Written particulars" vs "the contract"

Strictly, section 29 demands the listed particulars in writing, not a signed contract as such. A proper written contract is simply the sensible way to deliver them, and it protects you well beyond the minimum. A verbal agreement still creates a real, binding employment relationship. It just leaves you in breach of section 29 and arguing from memory at the CCMA, where the organisation with the paper usually wins.

The section 29 checklist: 16 items

An employer must supply the following in writing when employment begins:

1. The employer's full name and address
2. The employee's name and occupation, or a brief description of the work
3. The place(s) of work
4. The date employment begins
5. Ordinary hours of work and days of work
6. The wage, or the rate and method of calculating it
7. The rate of pay for overtime
8. Any other cash payments the employee is entitled to
9. Any payment in kind, and its value
10. How frequently remuneration is paid
11. Any deductions to be made from remuneration
12. The leave the employee is entitled to
13. The notice period required to terminate, or for a fixed term, the end date
14. Any bargaining council or sectoral determination that covers the workplace
15. Any period of prior employment that counts towards service
16. A list of any other documents that form part of the contract

Housekeeping attaches to the list: any change must be recorded in writing and given to the employee; the document must be explained to an employee who cannot understand it; and particulars kept for three years after employment ends.

The fewer-than-five-employees nuance

Small employers are not excused from the document, only trimmed. Under section 28 of the BCEA, an employer with fewer than five employees may skip items 14–16 (bargaining council details, prior service, the document list), plus related formalities in sections 30, 31 and 33: the displayed summary of rights, some record-keeping and prescribed pay-statement details. The same relaxation applies to domestic-worker employment. The core of the list (pay, hours, leave, notice) binds every employer, even with one employee. Separately, section 29 does not apply to employees working under 24 hours a month.

Keep the records anyway: the exemption spares you an obligation, not the evidentiary problem of having nothing on file.

The two 2026 numbers your contract must respect

| Number | Amount | In force from | What it means for your contract |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| National minimum wage | R30.23 per hour | 1 March 2026 | You cannot agree a lower rate, not by contract, collective agreement or the employee's consent |
| BCEA earnings threshold | R269,600.90 per year | 1 May 2026 | Above it, key BCEA working-time protections fall away unless your contract grants them |

The national minimum wage rose from R28.79 to R30.23 per hour on 1 March 2026, about 5%, and applies at the full rate to domestic workers and farm workers. A clause paying below it is unenforceable, and underpayment is a compliance matter for the Department of Employment and Labour's inspectorate.

The earnings threshold works in the opposite direction. Employees earning more than R269,600.90 a year (up from R261,748.45) fall outside the BCEA's sections on ordinary hours of work, overtime pay, compressed working weeks, averaging of hours, meal intervals, daily and weekly rest periods, Sunday pay, night work and public holiday pay. Practically: below the threshold those protections apply automatically, whatever the contract says; above it, the contract is the only place such rights exist, so if a senior employee is meant to earn overtime or public-holiday premiums, the contract must say so expressly.

Fixed-term vs permanent: the three-month rule

Section 198B of the Labour Relations Act adds a layer many employers miss. For employees earning below the earnings threshold, a fixed-term contract (or successive renewals) running past three months is only permissible if the work is genuinely of limited or definite duration, or the employer has another justifiable reason. The section's examples include replacing a temporarily absent employee, a temporary work spike of up to 12 months, seasonal work, a specific project, student or graduate training, and employees past retirement age, among others.

Two carve-outs matter: section 198B does not apply to employers with fewer than 10 employees, or those with fewer than 50 whose business has been operating for less than two years. Everyone else should record the justification in the contract itself, because without one, an employee kept on fixed terms beyond three months is deemed to be employed permanently, and "letting the contract lapse" becomes a dismissal you must defend.

What makes a contract invalid, or just dangerous

• Clauses below the legal floor. Sub-minimum-wage pay clauses and attempts to contract out of BCEA minimums do not stand. The statutory terms apply regardless.
• Missing particulars. A section 29 breach a labour inspector can act on, and a self-inflicted evidence problem in any dispute about what was agreed.
• Labels over reality. Calling someone an "independent contractor" does not settle the question. The CCMA looks at the actual relationship, not the document's heading.
• Fixed terms with no recorded reason where section 198B applies, the deemed-permanent trap above.
• Contracts that never get updated. Changed pay, hours or duties must be recorded in writing again, not just implemented.

Penalties for getting it wrong

Non-compliance with the BCEA and the minimum wage is policed by labour inspectors, who can secure undertakings and issue compliance orders, with fines for underpayment of the national minimum wage. The bigger cost is usually the dispute you cannot document. Arguing terms of employment before a commissioner without paper is not a position any employer enjoys.

Our Employment Contract Template (R69) is a plain-English South African contract with every section 29 particular built in, in permanent and fixed-term versions. Fill in the blanks and the checklist above is covered. The HR & Employment Legal Pack (R149) bundles the permanent and fixed-term contracts with the warning & disciplinary letter set and a non-compete agreement, the full paper trail in one download.

Quick FAQ

Do I need a lawyer to draft an employment contract?
For a standard hire, no. Section 29 is a checklist, and a well-drafted template that covers it serves most small organisations. Where genuine complexity enters (restraints of trade, executive terms, share incentives), legal advice earns its fee.

Can I pay below the minimum wage during probation?
No. R30.23 per hour is the floor from the first day of employment, and it cannot be varied by agreement. Probation affects how you manage performance in the early months. It is not a discount mechanism.

My employee now earns above R269,600.90, what changes?
From 1 May 2026 the BCEA's working-time protections (overtime pay, Sunday and public-holiday premiums, rest-period rules) stop applying automatically, but whatever the contract promises still binds. It also affects certain fixed-term and temporary employment service protections, so review the contract rather than assume.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For unusual or high-stakes appointments, run the contract past a labour law professional.