Unpaid Wages in South Africa: A Practical Claim Guide

Key takeaways

• If an employer has not paid your wages, first calculate exactly what was due, when it became due and what was actually paid. Preserve the contract or written employment particulars, payslips, timesheets, rosters, bank statements and messages. Send a factual written payment request, but do not let repeated promises delay the correct enforcement route.
• Under section 32 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), money remuneration must generally be paid no later than seven days after the pay period ends or the employment contract terminates. An earlier contractual payday can still apply. The right forum then depends on the source of the amount, your earnings, sector, employment status and whether the employer is trading, in business rescue or insolvent.
• As at 21 July 2026, the BCEA earnings threshold is R269,900.90 per year, effective from 1 May 2026. An employee or qualifying worker who does not earn above that threshold may generally refer a section 73A claim for unpaid amounts to the CCMA, subject to bargaining-council or accredited-agency jurisdiction. Higher earners generally need an appropriate court route for section 73A-type monetary claims. Verify the current threshold and route before filing; it changes over time and “earnings” is not simply take-home pay.

1. Identify what is unpaid

“Unpaid wages” can contain several legally different amounts:

• ordinary salary or wages;
• overtime, Sunday or public-holiday pay;
• leave pay or pay due on termination;
• commission or a bonus under a contract, policy or collective agreement;
• an unlawful or excessive deduction;
• an underpayment below the national, sectoral or collective minimum;
• an employee benefit-fund deduction not transferred to the fund;
• severance pay; or
• an expense reimbursement or another contractual amount.

Do not add every workplace complaint to one number. A discretionary bonus, expense claim, unfair dismissal, unilateral pay cut, benefit-fund complaint and unpaid wage can have different facts and forums. Separate each line item and identify the document or rule that makes it payable.

Also confirm the correct employer. Record the legal entity on the contract, payslip, UIF record and bank payment, plus any trading name. If a labour broker, group company, franchise, close corporation or individual paid or supervised you, obtain advice before naming parties.

2. Build a pay-period ledger

Use one row for every pay period:

Do not claim only a round total. The CCMA's current section 73A guidance asks applicants to state the period, rate, exact amount and calculation, including days or hours for overtime, Sunday and public-holiday work and the leave period where leave pay is claimed.

Check arithmetic against the BCEA calculation rules, employment contract, applicable collective agreement and any sector-specific measure. Variable pay and commission often need separate accrual, target, cancellation and payment-date analysis.

3. Preserve evidence even without a written contract

A missing written contract does not prove that no employment relationship or payment term existed. Collect:

1. offer, contract, appointment letter and amendments;
2. employer name, registration details and workplace address;
3. payslips and remuneration information;
4. bank statements showing the normal payer and payment pattern;
5. clock records, rosters, access logs and approved timesheets;
6. commission schedules, target reports and sales records;
7. leave records and termination documents;
8. messages acknowledging the amount or promising payment;
9. deduction authorities, court orders or benefit statements;
10. names of payroll or line-management witnesses; and
11. the pay-period ledger and written demand.

Keep original electronic files and export messages with dates and participants. Redact unrelated transactions when sharing bank records, but retain an unredacted original for the proper forum if required. The employment-dispute pack helps organise the chronology and supporting records.

4. Send a precise written payment request

A written request can expose a payroll error, obtain an admission and narrow the dispute. It should state:

• your employment and payroll identifiers;
• each unpaid period and amount;
• the contractual, statutory or collective basis;
• total claimed and attached calculation;
• previous part-payments or credits;
• the bank account already designated for payroll;
• a reasonable response and payment date; and
• a request for the relevant payslip, calculation or deduction authority.

Use a traceable channel and keep proof. Do not sign a “full and final” settlement, loan, salary waiver, resignation or repayment acknowledgment without understanding it. Do not assume that an internal complaint or ordinary demand safely interrupts prescription.

5. Choose the enforcement route

Do not file identical claims in several forums without checking the consequences. Jurisdiction, lis pendens, prior determination and statutory limits can block duplication.

6. The CCMA section 73A route

BCEA section 73A permits an employee or qualifying worker at or below the current earnings threshold to refer a dispute about an amount owing under the BCEA, National Minimum Wage Act, contract of employment, sectoral determination or collective agreement. The CCMA generally attempts conciliation and, if unresolved, proceeds to arbitration under that section.

Use the current LRA Form 7.11 or the CCMA online referral platform and select the section 73A BCEA dispute type. State the exact amount and calculation. If filing other than through the online service, the current CCMA guidance requires service on the employer and proof of service. The CCMA glossary and CCMA checklist give the established preparation routes.

If a bargaining council, statutory council or accredited agency covers the dispute, the CCMA online process warns that the referral must go to the relevant body. Confirm coverage before relying on the CCMA.

The CCMA's 2025 section 73A information sheet says its Rules do not prescribe a special referral period for this claim, but the debt must not have prescribed and it describes a 36-month period. Do not treat three years as a target or assume an email restarts time. Act promptly and obtain advice where the due date, interruption, acknowledgment, prior referral or claim type affects prescription.

7. Labour-inspector complaints

Labour inspectors monitor and enforce compliance with the BCEA and National Minimum Wage Act. The Department's current contact page lists Inspection and Enforcement Services, its self-service ticketing system and labour-centre directory.

Provide the employer's legal and trading names, physical workplace, contact person, affected employees, periods, calculations and available payroll evidence. Ask for a reference number and keep every follow-up. An inspection is not a promise of immediate recovery, and it may not be the correct route for a disputed high-earner contract claim or complex commission case.

8. Deductions, minimum wage and benefit contributions

Section 34 of the BCEA generally prohibits deductions unless the employee agreed in writing to a deduction for a specified debt or the deduction is required or permitted by law, a collective agreement, court order or arbitration award. Deductions for loss or damage have additional requirements, including fault, a fair procedure and statutory limits. Use the deductions-from-remuneration glossary to separate an authorised deduction from a wage shortfall.

As at 21 July 2026, the general national minimum wage is R30.23 for each ordinary hour worked, effective from 1 March 2026, with specific rates or schedules for certain categories. A sectoral or collective rate may be higher. Check the current official notice and the national-minimum-wage glossary before calculating an underpayment.

Where money was deducted for pension, provident, retirement, medical-aid or a similar benefit fund but not transferred, preserve payslips and obtain a fund contribution statement. The Department announced in January 2026 that the earlier section 34A enforcement variation had been withdrawn, restoring labour-inspector enforcement of timely benefit-fund contributions. Fund-specific complaint routes may also apply.

9. If the employer says it cannot pay

Cash-flow difficulty does not by itself erase remuneration already due. Ask whether the employer is merely late, has formally begun business rescue or is in provisional or final liquidation. Obtain the resolution, court order, practitioner or liquidator details rather than relying on a rumour.

In business rescue, pre-commencement unpaid employment amounts are treated as preferred unsecured claims under section 144 of the Companies Act, while unpaid employment amounts becoming due during rescue have a different statutory priority under section 135. Liquidation engages the Insolvency Act, termination or suspension rules, proof-of-claim procedure and statutory preferences and caps. Move quickly: the ordinary demand-and-referral strategy may no longer be enough.

10. Retaliation, dismissal and resignation

Record any threat, reduced shifts, suspension, discipline or dismissal after requesting payment. These may create a separate labour dispute with a much shorter period than the monetary claim. An unfair-dismissal referral is generally due within 30 days under the Labour Relations Act, subject to condonation; do not let a wage discussion consume that period.

Do not resign impulsively because one pay date was missed. Constructive dismissal requires the employee to prove a dismissal and intolerable continued employment caused by the employer; non-payment can be relevant but does not guarantee that outcome. Obtain advice on payment recovery, safety, continued work, notice and dismissal risk before resigning.

11. When to get legal help

Consult a labour lawyer promptly where:

• several periods or a large amount is unpaid;
• earnings may place the claim outside section 73A;
• commission, bonus, equity, restraint, contractor or group-company issues exist;
• records are missing, altered or disputed;
• the employer denies the employment relationship or correct employing entity;
• retaliation, suspension, dismissal or proposed resignation overlaps;
• prescription may be close or a prior claim failed for jurisdiction;
• the employer is closing, transferring business, in rescue or insolvent; or
• urgent interdict, court proceedings or collective action may be required.

Ask for a scoped opinion on the amount, parties, forum, timing, recovery prospects, process and cost. A judgment or award does not guarantee payment if the employer has no executable assets, so enforcement and insolvency risk belong in the decision.

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