At Decusatio Human Capital, we constantly analyse industry trends, HR data, and workforce analytics to help businesses navigate a rapidly evolving employment landscape. By monitoring key indicators and behavioural shifts, we identify both risks and opportunities in areas such as Recruitment, Talent Retention, and Outsourced HR Solutions. This monthly trends update is designed to keep South African employers informed and empowered to make better strategic human capital decisions.
Here are trends we identified as being of interest for South African Human Capital and recruitment professionals in July 2025.
Google analytics and Trends data
Each month, we receive regular website traffic from recruiters, Human Capital professionals and high-growth businesses looking to build workforces of the future.
This website and search traffic provides us with a useful sense of trending keywords. Looking at our July website traffic, these are key focus issues for HR professionals in South Africa.
- Temporary Employment Service / TES / TES Registration
- Temporary Employment Laws
- Temporary Employment Services
- WFH
- HR Outsourcing
With Employment Equity regulations being at the forefront of workforce planning at the moment, we expect there to be an increased focus around temporary employment structures.
Fair Pay / Fair Play?
There is quite a lot of interest in the recently proposed “Fair Pay” Bill could change recruitment practices and salary transparency.
This was a piece of legislation which was introduced by Build One South Africa (BOSA) and – in a nutshell – if passed, employers will no longer be allowed to ask for or rely on your payslip when you are applying for a job, or when determining your salary, among other proposals.
On top of this, the legislation would also make it mandatory for employers to disclose either a fixed salary or a salary range when advertising a job or appointing or transferring staff.
Should you wish to use a previous salary as a guideline or discussion point, you need to consider the following:
- The potential employee can only be asked to disclose their previous remuneration or payslip once an offer has been made
- The second requirement is that employers and recruiters would need to disclose the salary range upfront and may only discuss offers in the disclosed range.
The intention is to manage transparency in the recruitment process.
This will be new territory for many businesses operating in South Africa but there are some useful insights shared by law firm Cliffe Decker Hofmeyr (CDH).
There is also a great article from our partners at The CFO Centre where they discuss why your business might need a Remuneration Committee sooner than you think.
The salary picture is improving but …
The cost-of-living crisis has been a key talking point for people across South Africa – our salaries are simply not going far enough. Coupled with a benign inflation environment, many employers are having robust debates around how they approach annual increases.
We identified two interesting data points to consider:
- Take-home pay, tracked in the BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index (BTPI), held steady in June 2025, after three months of moderation. Nominal average take-home pay was R17 310 in June 2025, showing a marginal 0.1% decline on May’s R17 325. However, this was still notably above the R15 514 level a year earlier.
To that end, salaries are starting to tick up at a time when inflation is low and interest rates are being cut.
- The South African Rewards Association indicate that the average salary increase in South Africa is likely to fall between 5 and 6%. Moneyweb conducted a great interview with Lindiwe Sebesho from the Association to identify key remuneration trends.
We would love to hear from South African employers – how are you approaching increases in 2025?
Trends in South African boards
The annual South Africa Spencer Stuart Board Index was recently released and it shared some interesting insights into the composition of South African boards and associated remuneration trends.
Here are some of the standout statistics:
- Average board size remains steady at 12.2 members, with high independence levels of 83%.
- The average tenure of board members has increased to 6.4 years, with men serving longer than women (7.5 vs. 4.6 years).
- The age profile of directors continues to rise, averaging just under 60 years, while newly appointed directors average 55.7 years.
- Women non-executive directors are younger (average 57.9 years) compared to their male counterparts (62.3 years).
- Audit committee chairs earn an average of R626,569, reflecting their critical governance role. Remuneration of non-executive directors (NEDs) has increased 278% over the past decade, with the average retainer in 2024 sitting at R1,132,180.
To find out more about the report, please click here.
SETAs reimagined?
The Section Education Training Authority (SETAs) have come under intense scrutiny in the last few months, particularly with shuffling of the Minister of Higher Education.
With corruption allegations and concerns around outputs and deliverables of economy-appropriate skills, there are high levels of distrust in the roles of the SETA’s in South Africa.
There is an insightful article on the Daily Maverick by Lerato Mutsila and Siyabonga Goni who unpack the role of the SETA’s and how these organisations could be reimagined.
Up your HR game by partnering with Decusatio Human Capital Solutions
As the South African workplace continues to evolve, staying ahead of Recruitment trends and leveraging the benefits of Outsourced HR can give your business a critical edge. Whether you’re navigating compliance, building a resilient workforce, or scaling your operations, Decusatio Human Capital is here to support you with strategic, data-informed solutions.
Contact us today to discuss how we can help you meet your HR and talent objectives with confidence