Every year on 1 March the national minimum wage goes up, and every year some households only find out when their employee asks why the March pay is the same as February's. The 2027 figure has not been announced yet, but the review is already under way. This post explains how the process works, what an increase is likely to cost you, and what to have ready before your first March payslip.
1. Where the 2027 review is now
The National Minimum Wage Commission reviews the rate every year and recommends an adjustment to the Minister of Employment and Labour, who sets the final figure. For 2027 the steps so far are:
- 5 August 2026: the Department of Employment and Labour opened the 2027 review and invited written submissions and survey responses.
- 4 September 2026: the first comment window closed.
- Next: the Commission publishes a draft report with proposed figures, and a second comment period opens on that draft.
- Early 2027: the Minister announces the new rate in the Government Gazette. In 2026 that notice was published on 3 February, effective 1 March.
2. How big recent increases have been
Domestic workers have been on the full national minimum wage since 1 March 2022, when the lower domestic rate was scrapped. Since then the hourly rate has moved like this:
| From 1 March | Per hour | Increase |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | R23.19 | - |
| 2023 | R25.42 | 9.6% |
| 2024 | R27.58 | 8.5% |
| 2025 | R28.79 | 4.4% |
| 2026 | R30.23 | 5.0% |
The Commission weighs inflation, wage levels and employment, so the last two years have tracked inflation plus a little. That makes 4% to 6% a sensible planning range for 2027 - but it is a range, not a forecast.
3. What an increase would cost you
The minimum is per hour, so the monthly cost depends on how many hours your employee works. A month averages 52 ÷ 12 = 4.33 weeks. At three plausible rates:
| Hourly rate (scenario) | Full time, 45 h/week | 3 days, 24 h/week | 1 day, 8 h/week |
|---|---|---|---|
| R30.23 (today) | R5,894.85 | R3,143.92 | R1,047.97 |
| R31.44 (+4%) | R6,130.80 | R3,269.76 | R1,089.92 |
| R31.74 (+5%) | R6,189.30 | R3,300.96 | R1,100.32 |
| R32.04 (+6%) | R6,247.80 | R3,332.16 | R1,110.72 |
For a full-time worker on the minimum, each 1% is about R59 a month, or roughly R710 a year. Your 1% UIF contribution and your COIDA assessment rise with the wage too, but only by a few rand a month.
Try your own worker's hours at any hourly rate - change the rate to a scenario figure to see the March 2027 wage:
Calculator by CalcSA - open the minimum wage calculator if it does not load.
4. Already paying above the minimum?
If your employee's hourly rate will still be above the new minimum after 1 March, the law does not require you to raise it. Two things to check first:
- Work out the real hourly rate. Divide the monthly wage by the hours actually worked in a month. R6,000 for 45 hours a week is R30.77 an hour - above today's minimum, but below every 2027 scenario in the table.
- Check your contract. If it promises an annual increase, that promise binds you whatever the minimum does.
Many households give an annual increase anyway, because a wage that falls behind inflation is a pay cut in real terms. The calculator below shows what a given percentage does to the monthly pay:
Calculator by CalcSA - open the salary increase calculator if it does not load.
5. What does not count toward the minimum
The National Minimum Wage Act measures the minimum against the wage for ordinary hours only. These do not count toward it:
- Transport, food or accommodation provided, and allowances for them.
- Tips, gifts and bonuses, including a December bonus.
- Payments in kind, such as groceries or clothing.
So "R5,500 plus taxi money" is a R5,500 wage. If that is under the new monthly minimum for the hours worked, the wage itself has to rise.
6. What you cannot do to absorb the increase
The Act does not let an employer use the new minimum as a reason to change terms on their own. In practice:
- You cannot cut hours, leave or other conditions unilaterally to keep the monthly total the same. Any change to hours needs your employee's agreement, in writing.
- You cannot drop a benefit you already provide, such as meals, to fund the increase.
- The four-hour rule still applies. A day of fewer than four hours is paid as four hours under Sectoral Determination 7, so trimming a short day does not save money.
7. A checklist for the March 2027 payslip
- Now: add the scenario increase to your household budget from March.
- February 2027: look up the gazetted rate as soon as it is announced and work out your employee's new monthly wage.
- Before payday: tell your employee the new wage in writing and update the contract if it states a rand amount.
- March payslip: pay the new rate for every hour worked from 1 March. If you pay weekly and a pay week straddles 1 March, the days from 1 March are at the new rate.
- UIF and COIDA: recalculate the 1% + 1% UIF on the new wage, and use the higher earnings on your next COIDA Return of Earnings.
HomeHR's payslip tool works the new rate, UIF and deductions into a payslip in one step, so the March change is a single number to update.
- National Minimum Wage Act 9 of 2018 - annual review, what counts toward the minimum, no unilateral changes to conditions.
- Government Gazette No. 54075, Notice R7083 (3 February 2026) - R30.23/hour from 1 March 2026 (summarised by Labour Guide).
- Department of Employment and Labour call for input on the 2027 review, 5 August 2026, closing 4 September 2026 - reported by Labour Guide and Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.
- Previous rates (R23.19 in 2022, R25.42 in 2023, R27.58 in 2024, R28.79 in 2025) - National Minimum Wage gazette notices for each year.
- Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector - four-hour minimum per day.
General information, not legal advice. Every figure we use is on the rates page with its source.