Remuneration
Employer cost: what employment actually costs
The salary line understates employment cost. Employer contributions, statutory levies, provisions and administrative cost all sit behind each employee, and finance needs them visible to budget properly.
Components of employer cost
- Guaranteed remuneration paid to the employee
- Employer retirement fund contributions and medical scheme subsidies
- Group risk premiums funded by the employer
- Statutory employer costs: employer UIF, SDL and the COIDA assessment
- Provisions for leave and guaranteed bonuses
- Recruitment, training and payroll administration cost
Costs that are easy to miss
Accrued leave is a real liability that grows quietly until it is paid out on termination. Guaranteed 13th cheques must be provided for monthly rather than absorbed in one month. Both belong in the employer cost view even though neither is a cash cost every cycle.
Employer cost versus cost to company
Cost to company is a package definition used in offers; employer cost is the accounting reality, which may include statutory levies and provisions that packages exclude. Comparing the two without noting the basis produces misleading budgets — see total remuneration.
Reporting employer cost
Patuza reports employer cost per employee, department and cost centre with each cycle, reconciled to the ledger through payroll and GL reconciliation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the true cost of employing someone in South Africa?
It is the guaranteed remuneration plus employer contributions to retirement and medical benefits, employer UIF, SDL where applicable, the COIDA assessment, and provisions for leave and guaranteed bonuses.
Are UIF and SDL employer costs?
The employer UIF contribution and SDL are employer costs and may not be deducted from employees. Only the employee's own UIF contribution comes out of their pay.
Should leave accrual be included in employer cost?
Yes. Untaken leave is a liability that will eventually be paid, so including the accrual gives a truer monthly cost and avoids a large unbudgeted payout later.
How can employer cost be reduced without cutting pay?
Usually through better structure and administration: reviewing benefit design and providers, reducing overtime dependence, correcting COIDA industry classification and recovering SETA grants that the levy already funds.
Patuza reports total employer cost per employee and cost centre so your budget matches what payroll will actually cost.
Book a consultationRelated services
- Payroll reporting →
Cost, variance, management and reconciliation reporting from every payroll cycle.
- Payroll & GL reconciliation →
Payroll reconciled to the general ledger: salary expense, control accounts and payroll liabilities.
- Payroll advisory →
Payroll consulting on process, controls, systems, compliance risk and payroll optimisation.
Related topics
- Total remuneration →
Total cost to company: how guaranteed pay, benefits and employer contributions add up.
- SDL →
Skills Development Levy: who pays, how it is calculated and how it is recovered.
- COIDA →
Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases: registration, return of earnings and assessments.
- Employee contributions →
What employees contribute to retirement, medical and statutory funds, and its effect on pay.
Related insights
- Employer cost vs net pay →
Why the employer's cost and the employee's take-home differ so widely.
- Payroll to GL reconciliation →
Why payroll control accounts drift and how to clear them for good.