Right now, many people are all too happy to stick to the minimum wage when it comes to forking out money for unskilled labour.

If you’re one of them, you might want to take note of the new minimum wage considered for next year.

On November 17, the Department of Labour published a proposed National Minimum Wage Bill that could be introduced as soon as May 2018. It states that a minimum of R20 to be paid for “each ordinary hour worked,” reports Business Tech.

Although the proposed changes still need to be adopted by parliament, it’s important for employers to familiarise themselves with them and assess their potential impact on the business.

How will this affect you? Well:

The only exceptions to the R20 minimum wage applies to farmworkers who are entitled to R18 per hour, domestic workers who are entitled to R15 per hour and Expanded Public Works Programme workers, who are entitled to R11 per hour.

So, instead of paying the current minimum of R13,05 per hour, you’re going to have to pay R15 – which works out to around R120 for an eight hour day.

Peanuts, I say, so maybe double that then add a bit more.

Oh, and if you are currently obsessing over whether or not to give your domestic a Christmas bonus, this from The Citizen:

[I]t is completely up to you what you do at this time of year.

Many of us purchase a “Christmas bucket” (grocery hamper) for our domestic workers, aiming to help them with groceries over the festive season.

Do keep in mind that most employers will give their helpers something, so domestic workers will indeed expect a Christmas treat.

Look, if you can throw together a little extra then good on you. Be lekker, pay it forward, and maybe 2018 will be a little kinder to us all.

[source:businesstech&thecitizen]