FirstRand raises minimum pay for lowest paid staff to R15,400 a month

FirstRand — the owner of FNB, RMB and WesBank — has raised its minimum pay for non-banking staff, including its catering staff, to R185,000 a year, while its minimum pay for banking roles has been raised to R215,000.

The group, which also owns asset manager Ashburton and Aldmore in the UK, said in its annual report published on Wednesday the new minimum salaries came into effect in August and exclude performance-related variable pay, medical aid subsidy and school fee assistance for eligible employees.

The group’s minimum salaries are intended to provide employees with a decent standard of living

—  FirstRand

“The group’s minimum salaries are intended to provide employees with a decent standard of living. The group distinguishes between the minimum salaries for banking and non-banking roles. The former comprise roles involved in banking operations and the latter roles are not involved in any banking operations, for example catering staff and drivers,” the banking group said.

“The group undertakes annual benchmarking and income differential analysis to ensure equal pay for work of equal value. The 2024 review identified and addressed cases of unjustifiable income differentials. These were not significant, either individually or in aggregate, and have been adjusted as part of the annual salary review.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa in July signed the Companies Amendment Act into law, which among other things will demand companies provide detailed disclosures, remuneration reports relating to the remuneration of directors and remuneration comparisons in the company.

The amendments are not yet in operation and will only come into operation on a date or dates fixed by the president by notice in the Government Gazette.

FirstRand, the country’s most valuable bank, said it was preparing to report on the vertical pay gap from the date the legislation takes effect.

“Beyond legislative compliance, the group acknowledges a social responsibility to ensure lower earning employees have a decent standard of living. This is achieved through offering fixed pay packages competitive with the market, opportunities to participate in variable pay schemes, subsidies for medical aid, assistance with children’s school expenses and preferential rates on financial services products,” it said.

“For the 2024 school cycle the staff assistance trust supported 5,780 employees with their children’s school expenses (tuition fees and stationery) to the value of R48.7m. This represents a fulfilment rate of 92% of total staff applications.

“The qualifying income threshold, below which employees are eligible for this benefit was an annual salary of R350,000. Eligible employees are provided a medical aid subsidy of up to R76,176 a year for each employee.”

The company’s group CEO Mary Vilakazi was paid R40m in the year ended June, inclusive of incentives, while CFO Markos Davias was rewarded with a R26.3m pay cheque. The heads of the company’s subsidiaries, FNB CEO Harry Kellan and RMB peer Emrie Brown, were paid in the region of R42m.

Financial services companies have increasingly been disclosing how much their minimum pay is, as such information will be a must-share when the Companies Amendment Act comes into force.

The country’s largest bank by assets, Standard Bank, in its annual report, disclosed its minimum banking guaranteed package was increased to R244,920 a year.

Investec, the niche private banking and wealth management group, has set minimum pay for its South African employees at R250,000 a year.

Investec, in its disclosure, went further and revealed the pay gap in the group. The lender’s annual report shows average single-figure total remuneration of the top 5% South Africa-based employees was R10.1m a year in the 2024 financial year, while the bottom 5% pocketed just R297,000.

Insurance group Santam and Old Mutual have set their minimum pay at R15,000 a month.

Financial services group Discovery has hiked its minimum pay to R200,000 a year with effect from October, it disclosed in its 2024 annual report.

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