🎲 HR Calendar Bingo 2026: What’s Coming This Year?

25 Jan 2026
HR doesn’t need fortune tellers - we’ve got annual rituals that repeat with uncanny precision. Here’s your bingo card for 2026, with the details that matter.

🧩 Square 1: Minimum Wage Increase

  • Recommendation: The National Minimum Wage Commission has proposed an increase of CPI + 1.5% for 2026.
  • Current Rate: R28.79 per hour (general minimum, including farm and domestic workers).
  • Timeline: If adopted, the new rate will take effect 1 March 2026.
  • Impact: Roughly 5.5 million workers are affected, with employers needing to adjust payroll systems and contracts accordingly.

🧩 Square 2: Workman’s Comp Return of Earnings (ROE) Delays

  • Annual Cycle: Employers must submit ROE in April for the prior year’s earnings.
  • The Pattern: The Compensation Fund’s online portal is notorious for shutdowns and extensions. In 2025, the system was offline until 1 May, with Letters of Good Standing extended until 31 May.
  • Expectation for 2026: Similar delays are likely, meaning HR teams should prepare for last‑minute extensions and keep compliance buffers in place.

🧩 Square 3: Tax Tweaks & Medical Aid Credits

  • Medical Aid Tax Credits: Currently R364 per month for the principal member, R364 for the first dependant, and R246 for each additional dependant.
  • Future Outlook: Policy discussions suggest credits could be eliminated entirely by 2029 to fund the National Health Insurance (NHI).
  • This Year’s Twist: For 2026, credits may not be adjusted at all - effectively eroding their value against inflation.
  • Risk: If withdrawn, up to 700,000 lower‑income medical aid members could be forced into public health, costing the state an extra R6.3 billion annually.

🧩 Square 4: Industrial Action Looming

  • Context: Wage negotiations across sectors remain tense, with unions signalling readiness for strikes or go‑slows.
  • HR Implication: Contingency planning is essential — from communication protocols to payroll adjustments during work stoppages.
  • Pattern: Industrial action tends to peak mid‑year, often coinciding with wage review cycles.

openHR free payroll and HR
✨ How to Play

  • Print the card, stick it on your office wall, and tick off each square as the year unfolds.
  • First one to shout “Bingo!” wins… probably just more paperwork.

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