Cashiers at South Africa's largest retailers often earn more than the national minimum wage, with some earning more than others.
On average, cashiers in South Africa’s largest retailers earn more than the national minimum wage, with some companies paying more than others.
The national minimum wage was introduced in South Africa at the start of 2019, establishing a baseline salary of R20 per hour across all industries.
Before this, minimum wages were set by sector, which some argued created wage inequalities across the country.
Since its introduction, the national minimum wage has slowly increased to match the cost of living in the country.
Today, it stands at R30.23 per hour, which amounts to slightly less than R6,000 for a standard 45-hour work week before deductions.
In 2024, Just Share analysed the earnings of cashiers in South Africa and found that Woolworths was the highest-paying employer among the country’s four largest retailers.
The analysis found that the minimum yearly earnings for each retailer were:
A year later, all four of these retailers had introduced salary increases, but Woolworths remains the highest paying.
Woolworths has a “Just Wage Initiative” and ensures that salaries remain safely above the national minimum wage, while providing a host of other benefits.
The company also provides medical aid to over 24,000 employees through a partnership with Momentum.
The company currently has a minimum wage of R45 per hour, which translates to approximately R105,300 per year for 45-hour workweeks.
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act states that a standard workweek consists of 45 hours, with nine hours per day over five working days.
It can also consist of eight hours per day across six working days, still equalling 45 hours, and does not include lunch breaks.
The comparisons in this article assume a 45-hour workweek and are calculated on base salaries before tax, excluding overtime or other benefits.
The comparisons are also based on the percentage wage increases set out in each company’s 2025 financial statements.
2024 yearly
2024 hourly
2025 yearly
2025 hourly
Woolworths
R93,600R40.00R105,300R45.00
Spar
R59,483R25.42R75,886R32.43
Shoprite
R65,263R27.89R70,484R30.12
Pick n Pay
R64,537R27.58R69,055R29.51
Spar, which was the lowest-paying retailer at the end of 2024, is now the second-highest-paying behind Woolworths.
In its 2025 integrated report, the company said its lowest-paid employee received R107,435 in total remuneration, which is a combination of guaranteed pay and all other payments.
This remuneration package was 169 times less than that of the group’s then-CEO, Angelo Swartz, prompting SPAR to announce sweeping changes to its pay policy.
The company announced in July 2026 that it would be increasing the salaries of its lowest-paid employees by 40%.
Pick n Pay said in its 2025 integrated financial results that the average salary for a cashier was R33.44 per hour.
When the 2024 minimum earnings data are multiplied by the announced annual salary increases of 7%, the minimum earnings for an employee amount to R29.91 per hour.
This is still above the national minimum wage; however, the group said in its reports that salary increases for 2026 would be 3.8%.
This comes as Pick n Pay is in the midst of a turnaround strategy to return the retailer to profitability after it became technically insolvent.
The group also announced that senior management would not receive salary increases and that other employees’ increases would also be cut.
Shoprite’s average hourly salary for cashiers in 2025 was R34.83, and the minimum, based on an 8% increase over the 2024 minimum outlined by Just Share, is R30.12 per hour.
The group have an agreement with the South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU) that guarantees an 8% increase for employees for three years from 2024.
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