How the routing works
The first question is what the person will actually do, because the Act treats an ongoing role, a supplied worker, a director, a learner and a household worker under different provisions. The second is pay against the earnings threshold, because the presumption of employment and the three-month rules in sections 198A to 198C apply only at or below it. The third is duration, and if the term is fixed, the fourth is why — the nine reasons the Act lists, or none. Hours decide whether the part-time and short-hours rules attach. Two riders — a foreign national, and access to confidential information — attach to any result.
An employer may employ an employee on a fixed term contract or successive fixed term contracts for longer than three months of employment only if— (a) the nature of the work for which the employee is employed is of a limited or definite duration; or (b) the employer can demonstrate any other justifiable reason for fixing the term of the contract.
Figures last reviewed 9 September 2026.
The facts that decide it
| If | Then | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| An ongoing role, no end date | Permanent employment contract | BCEA s 29 |
| Below the threshold, fixed term over three months, a listed reason in writing | Fixed-term contract | LRA s 198B(3)–(6) |
| Below the threshold, fixed term over three months, no reason, 10+ employees | Deemed permanent | LRA s 198B(5) |
| Above the threshold, fixed term | Fixed-term contract; watch expectation of renewal | LRA ss 198B(2)(a), 186(1)(b) |
| Fewer than 24 hours a month | Short-hours contract; most of the BCEA off | BCEA ss 6(1)(c), 19(1), 28(1) |
| Supplied by a broker, below the threshold, over three months | Client is the sole employer | LRA s 198A(3)(b) |
| Registered learnership | Learnership agreement + employment contract | SDA ss 17–18 |
| Work experience, no registered programme | Paid fixed term with the s 198B(4)(c) reason | NMWA s 3(2); LRA s 198B(4)(c) |
| A board appointment | Service agreement in two capacities | Companies Act ss 66, 76 |
| A private household | Domestic worker contract | Sectoral Determination 7 |
| A defined result on the person’s own account | Contractor agreement — after the status test | LRA s 200A |
What the tool cannot see
A bargaining council agreement extended to your sector, a sectoral determination or a collective agreement can permit fixed terms the Act would otherwise deem permanent (s 198B(2)(c)), set higher minimums, or change notice and leave. Nor can the tool judge whether a stated reason is true on your facts. Where either matters, the result is a starting point for advice, not the end of it.
Questions about the selector
Because the earnings threshold is the switch. At or below R269 600,90 a year the presumption of employment, the three-month rules and the BCEA hours rules all apply; above it they do not. See the earnings threshold.
No. It applies the statutory routing rules to the facts you enter and gives a starting position with the section behind each step. A bargaining council agreement, a sectoral determination or a collective agreement can change the answer, and the tool cannot see those.
Each result links to the matching fixed-fee drafting and 24-hour review services and to the guide that explains the instrument. The firm drafts to the facts rather than handing out templates.
Switch the toggle at the top. The result then explains what you are entitled to and where to take it — the CCMA can give an advisory award on whether you are an employee if you earn at or below the threshold (LRA s 200A(3)).