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South African Labour & Employer Payroll

Payroll Administration Services

Accurate, on-time, and strictly compliant. We remove the administrative complexity of paying your team, managing BCEA leave rules, SARS EMP201 submissions, and bi-annual EMP501 tax reconciliations.

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BCEA Statutory Compliance: Working Hours, Overtime & Leave Rules

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 sets non-negotiable minimum statutory standards for employer-employee relationships. Failing to calculate or document these correctly exposes employers to CCMA disputes and Department of Labour audits.

BCEA Sections 9 & 10

Ordinary Hours & Overtime Caps

Maximum ordinary working week is 45 hours (9 hours per day for a 5-day week, or 8 hours per day for more than 5 days). Overtime is capped at 10 hours per week and compensated at 1.5x normal rate on workdays and 2.0x on Sundays and public holidays.

BCEA Sections 20 & 22

Annual & Sick Leave Entitlements

Employees are entitled to 21 consecutive days of paid annual leave per year (or 1 day per 17 days worked). Paid sick leave equals the number of days an employee would ordinarily work in a 6-week period over every 36-month cycle.

BCEA Sections 27 & Labour Laws Amendment

Family & Parental Leave

Full-time employees receive 3 days of paid family responsibility leave annually for the birth or illness of a child, or the death of an immediate family member. In addition, 10 consecutive days of unpaid parental leave are claimable directly via the UIF.

BCEA Section 33 Mandatory Disclosures

Section 33 Payslip Disclosures

Every employee must receive an itemized payslip on or before payday showing employer details, employee name, pay period, gross remuneration, overtime calculations, statutory tax deductions, and final net remuneration.

Bi-Annual EMP501 Reconciliations & IRP5 Generation

Employer tax compliance extends far beyond monthly EMP201 payments. Under the Tax Administration Act and Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act, South African employers must execute two bi-annual EMP501 reconciliations each tax year, balancing monthly payments against total employee tax certificates:

Interim EMP501 Filing (1 Sep to 31 Oct)

Reconciles monthly EMP201 declarations and payments made to SARS for the first 6 months (March to August). Identifies any calculation variances, unallocated payments, or payroll errors before year-end.

Annual EMP501 Filing (1 Apr to 31 May)

Finalizes the entire 12-month tax year (March to February). Generates, validates, and distributes statutory IRP5/IT3(a) tax certificates to staff so they can submit their personal ITR12 tax returns.

Section 212 Non-Compliance Penalty: Failing to submit an EMP501 reconciliation on time triggers an immediate administrative penalty of up to 10% of the employer total annual PAYE liability.

Comprehensive Payroll Deliverables

Everything your business needs to guarantee seamless, stress-free monthly pay runs.

Encrypted Digital Payslips

Automated monthly or bi-weekly digital payslips delivered directly to employee emails with AES password encryption and complete Section 33 BCEA disclosures.

BCEA Statutory Leave Management

Accurate tracking of statutory annual leave (21 days), sick leave (30-day 3-year cycle), family responsibility leave (3 days), and parental leave with accrued liability reporting.

Monthly EMP201 Submissions

Precise monthly calculations and eFiling submission of PAYE, UIF, and SDL, generating Payment Reference Numbers (PRNs) before the statutory 7th-of-the-month cutoff.

Bi-Annual EMP501 Reconciliations

End-to-end management of the Interim and Annual SARS EMP501 recons via e@syFile, resolving electronic validation warnings and generating validated IRP5/IT3(a) certificates.

Net Pay Bank ACB Export Files

Standardized automated bank upload files (ACB / CSV) formatted for all major South African commercial banks (FNB, Standard Bank, Nedbank, ABSA, Investec) for 1-click salary payouts.

Third-Party Deduction Schedules

Automated schedules and payment reconciliation for medical aid schemes, provident/pension funds, group life policies, and statutory court garnishee orders.

Our Monthly Payroll Workflow & SLAs

A disciplined 5-stage monthly process ensuring precision and zero payroll errors.

01

Variable Data Ingestion

By the 25th of the month, we ingest your variable payroll data: approved timesheets, overtime hours, sales commissions, expense claims, and unpaid leave days.

02

Statutory Computations

Our engine applies 2026/2027 tax brackets, Section 6A medical credits, UIF caps (R17,712), SDL thresholds, and 7th Schedule fringe benefit tax valuations.

03

Executive Pre-Approval

We present business leadership with a comprehensive payroll audit pack: Net Pay Variance Report, Gross-to-Net Summary, and Departmental Cost Centers for sign-off.

04

Encrypted Payslips Dispatch

Upon approval, password-encrypted payslips are emailed to employees, and the ACB salary payment file is provided for immediate bank batch release.

05

Statutory SARS Filings

We submit your EMP201 return to SARS and file the monthly UI-19 employee declaration with the Department of Employment and Labour, providing confirmed PRNs for payment.

Transparent Payroll Packages

Scalable, fixed-fee monthly packages with zero hidden software maintenance charges.

Small Team Payroll

R650/per month

Complete payroll administration for micro-enterprises and startups with 1 to 5 employees.

  • Up to 5 monthly employee payslips
  • Password-encrypted email dispatch
  • Monthly EMP201 return preparation & submission
  • Monthly DoEL uFiling declaration
  • BCEA statutory leave balance tracking
Select Package
Most Popular

Growing Team Payroll

R1,150/per month

Ideal for established businesses and professional firms employing 6 to 15 team members.

  • 6 to 15 monthly employee payslips
  • Automated ACB bank salary upload file
  • EMP201 preparation, PRN generation & submission
  • Seventh Schedule fringe benefit tax calculations
  • Third-party schedules (Medical Aid, Provident Fund)
  • Full Bi-Annual EMP501 recons included
Select Package

Mid-Market & Enterprise

R65/per employee/mo

Tailored payroll engine for mid-market employers with 16 to 100+ active workforce staff.

  • Dedicated senior payroll manager
  • Multi-departmental and cost center reporting
  • Custom shift work & complex overtime rules
  • Automated leave liability balance sheet reporting
  • Bi-annual EMP501 recons & e@syFile synchronization
Select Package

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions regarding payroll outsourcing, labour legislation, and employer tax filing in South Africa.

Under Section 33 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (BCEA), an employer is legally required to deliver a written or secure digital payslip on or before payday. The payslip must explicitly detail: the employer registered name and physical or postal address; the employee name and occupation; the period for which payment is made; the employee gross remuneration; the calculation of any variable overtime or allowances; itemized statutory deductions (PAYE, UIF) and voluntary deductions; and the final net remuneration paid.

SARS mandates two statutory EMP501 reconciliation filing periods annually. The Interim Reconciliation covers the first six months of the tax year (1 March to 31 August) and must be submitted between 1 September and 31 October. The Annual Reconciliation covers the full 12-month tax year (1 March to 28/29 February) and must be lodged between 1 April and 31 May. During the annual recon, final employee tax certificates (IRP5/IT3(a)) are generated, validated, and issued to staff.

The BCEA limits ordinary working hours to a maximum of 45 hours per week (9 hours per day for a 5-day week, or 8 hours per day for workweeks exceeding 5 days). Overtime is capped at a strict maximum of 10 hours per week and must be agreed upon by contract. Normal overtime must be remunerated at 1.5 times the employee normal hourly wage. Work performed on Sundays or statutory public holidays must be paid at double (2.0x) the ordinary rate, unless Sunday is a normal scheduled rostered workday, in which case 1.5x applies.

Under the Seventh Schedule to the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, non-cash benefits provided by employers—such as company cars, employer-paid medical scheme contributions, employer retirement fund contributions, low-interest staff loans, and residential accommodation—constitute taxable fringe benefits. The cash equivalent value of these perks must be calculated each month and added to the employee gross remuneration to determine the correct PAYE deduction.

We track every day and hour of annual, sick, family responsibility, and parental leave in our automated payroll system. Under Section 20 of the BCEA, employees accumulate at least 21 consecutive days of paid annual leave per cycle. Because untaken annual leave represents an accrued legal liability that must be paid out upon termination, our monthly payroll pack provides a detailed Leave Liability Valuation Report for your general ledger balance sheet.

Ready to Outsource Your Payroll Headaches?

Join hundreds of South African business leaders who trust My Accountant to deliver error-free payslips, precise SARS compliance, and dependable workforce administration every month.

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