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The publication of pay gap reports showing differences in pay between the highest-earning employees and the bottom rung shows that industries that have a high concentration of unskilled labour fare worse.
In the listed space, this is more pronounced in the retail sector, which employs thousands of young people.
Pick n Pay, in its annual report released last week, reported that its top 5% highest-earning employees earned on average R1.12m in the 2026 financial year, while the bottom 5% earned on average R72,000.
The group’s highest-paid employee received R56.7m, including guaranteed pay of R25.2m and accrued incentives, while the lowest-paid employee got R67,700.
Pick n Pay said the average hourly rate earned by a cashier during FY26 was R40.16 per hour, 20% above the applicable prescribed minimum of R33.44.
The retailer said, including the value of benefits provided, the average hourly rate increases to R45.66 per hour, or 36% above the prescribed minimum wage.
“Pick n Pay recognises the income disparities that exist within the retail sector. These disparities are driven by the large number of unskilled and semi-skilled employees employed across the group’s retail stores, distribution centres and support operations, compared to a relatively small number of specialist, management and executive employees,” the group said in its annual report.
“Our workforce profile is characteristic of the retail industry, where higher levels of pay are associated with skilled, specialist and senior management roles.”
The group, which employs about 55,000 people, stressed that it continues to support the advancement of women and historically disadvantaged employees through its employment equity, talent development and succession planning initiatives.
“Pick n Pay is committed to nondiscriminatory remuneration practices. Remuneration is determined with reference to the requirements of a role, taking into account responsibility, skills, experience and individual performance,” it said.
“Pay decisions are not influenced by race, gender or any other unjustifiable factor, with no discriminatory pay practices identified in FY26.”
The loss-making Pick n Pay is embarking on a section 189A process to slash costs, insisting it wants to avoid job losses.
“The section 189A consultation is focused on scheduling practices, guaranteed hours and selected employment benefits that are above market norms. Pick n Pay has made a comprehensive proposal to avoid any job losses and is not proposing reductions to hourly rates of pay and remains committed to providing competitive remuneration for employees.”
Read: Summers forfeits R21m in shares as Pick n Pay turnaround slips
President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this year signed amendments to the Companies Act into law, making it mandatory for all listed and state-owned companies to disclose the exact wage gap between their highest and lowest-paid employees.
The new legislation requires companies to publicly disclose the earnings gap between the top 5% of highest-paid workers and the bottom 5% of lowest-paid workers.
Pick n Pay’s profitable sister company Boxer, which employs 35,000 people, had a narrower pay gap. Its top five best-paid employees earned on average R570,748 a year in the 2026 financial year, against the R67,369 earned by the bottom 5%.
The group’s highest-paid employee earned R35m in the period.
“The lowest-paid remuneration refers to a fulltime general assistant in their first year of employment, remunerated at the prescribed minimum wage of R28.79 per hour in FY26,” Boxer said in its annual report.
“Boxer recognises the income disparities that exist within the retail sector, which reflect the industry’s large base of unskilled and semi-skilled roles across store and supply chain operations, compared to a much smaller group of more specialised and senior positions.”
Woolworths, Shoprite — the country’s largest private sector employer — and Spar are yet to release their annual reports.
“The publication of pay ratios is an important step because it gives investors and the public greater visibility into how companies distribute value across their workforce. But the ratio should be seen as the beginning of the conversation, not the conclusion,” Nicole Martens, executive director at Just Share, said.
“A labour-intensive retail business may naturally have a wider pay gap than other sectors, but that does not in itself justify the outcome.
“The key questions are whether the company’s lowest-paid workers earn a living wage, whether executive pay is genuinely aligned with long-term performance and whether the board can clearly explain the principles that underpin remuneration decisions across the organisation.”
The banking sector companies have reported a minimum pay of about R22,000 a month.
Business Day
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