If Spar keeps its promise of a 40% increase, the lowest-paid employees could earn more than double what Pick n Pay employees earn.
Pick n Pay pay gap ratio between the Top 5% and Bottom 5% averages is 15.5:1. Picture: iStock
South Africa’s biggest retailers continue to reward their top executives with multimillion-rand pay packages, but their latest remuneration reports reveal a stark gap between top executives and workers on the shop floor.
While some executives take home tens of millions of rand a year, many retailers’ lowest-paid employees earn less than R100 000 annually, highlighting the widening pay disparity across the sector amid the country’s persistent cost-of-living pressures.
Pick n Pay and its sister company, Boxer, released their remuneration report for the 2026 financial year, revealing that their lowest-paid employees earn no more than R6 000 per month. Spar has promised its lowest-paid employees a 40% increase for the 2026 financial year.
Pick n Pay payday
According to Pick n Pay’s remuneration report released last week, the pay gap between executive and non-executive employees speaks volumes, as expected.
The retailer’s highest-paid employee is CEO Sean Summers, who received more than R56.7 million during the period – comprising R25.2 million in total guaranteed pay and R31.5 million in “the annualised accounting accrual recognised in respect of share-based incentive awards for the year”.
The remuneration report revealed that the retailer pays its lowest-paid employee R67 700 per year, which is approximately R5 641.67 per month.
Pay-gap ratio at Pick n Pay
The remuneration report stated that the retailer’s pay gap ratio between the Top 5% and Bottom 5% averages is 15.5:1.
Revealing pay gaps within Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed companies is in line with the amendment to the Companies Act of 2008, which requires publicly listed and state-owned companies to disclose how much they pay their lowest- and highest-paid employees.
“The lowest paid remuneration is in respect of a newly appointed Category 1 unskilled general worker remunerated at the applicable prescribed minimum wage of R28.79 per hour in the financial year 2026 who had not yet qualified for an annual bonus payment or other employee benefits,” read the report.
Retailer pays R40 per hour
The report revealed that Pick n Pay’s cashiers earned R40.16 per hour, 20% above the prescribed Sectoral Determination 9 (SD9) minimum of R33.44 per hour. Including the value of benefits provided, the average hourly rate increases to R45.66, or 36% above the SD9 minimum.
“Learners participating in Pick n Pay training programmes have been excluded from the table as they receive a statutory training stipend, which is not comparable with employee remuneration,” read the report.
“Had learners been included in the table provided, the lowest paid remuneration would reflect at R42 000, with average remuneration at R180 000, median remuneration at R121 400 and the reported pay‑gap ratio would have increased from 15.5:1 to 16.4:1.”
Boxer’s payday
Pick n Pay’s sister company, Boxer, pays its lowest-paid employee R67 369 per annum, approximately R5 614.08 per month.
The discount retailer’s highest-paid employee is its CEO, Marek Masojada. He received R34.9 million during the period; this comprises a total guaranteed pay of R8.5 million, short-term performance bonus of R8.5 million, legacy settlements of R4.2 million, and long-term share awards charges of R13.7 million.
“Legacy settlements relate to incentives paid in respect of the pre-IPO retention scheme,” said Boxer.
R28.79 per hour
“The lowest-paid remuneration refers to a full-time general assistant in their first year of employment, remunerated at the prescribed minimum wage of R28.79 per hour in financial year 2026,” read Boxer’s remuneration report.
“Learners participating in Boxer training programmes have been excluded from these calculations, as they receive a statutory training stipend which is not comparable with employee remuneration.
“Had learners been included in the table provided, the lowest paid remuneration would reflect at R36 000, with average remuneration at R107 497, median remuneration at R71 170 and a pay gap ratio of 8.7:1.”
Spar could be the highest payer
Spar could be the retailer that pays its lowest-paid employees the most if the group keeps its promise to raise pay by 40%, from R107 435 per annum.
Spar, Woolworths, and the Shoprite Group have not released their remuneration reports for the financial year 2026.
But Spar, in its remuneration report for 2025, said: “The lowest-paid permanent employee will increase to R150 000 per annum (40% increase) in line with Spar’s living wage for phase 1 in FY2026”.
If this happens, the retailer’s lowest-paid employee will earn R12 500 per month.
