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Outsourcing to South Africa
South Africa is becoming an increasingly popular outsourcing destination for businesses in the UK. A combination of a highly skilled workforce, low wages, a convenient time zone, and a shared language make South Africa a unique outsourcing market. Businesses are outsourcing a vast range of roles from call centers, to financial services, IT support, digital marketing, and much more.
Outsourcing to South Africa is a great way to hire high-quality, cost-effective staff that can drive your business forward. With the ability to end your contract with us for any member of staff with 30 days’ notice, outsourcing is a more flexible way of hiring in South Africa compared to using an Employer of Record (EOR).
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Quick facts
South Africa offers a host of compelling reasons for companies looking to outsource
The most obvious and most common reason why companies outsource is due to the cost incentives. South African salaries are 50-60% less than their UK equivalents.
South Africa is only one or two hours ahead of the UK (depending on the time of year), which means you can outsource all sorts of operations with little disruption. Communication can happen during work hours and people can be on call whenever they are needed.
Another compelling draw for South Africa is the clear cultural similarities with the UK. South Africa’s society is highly educated, multicultural and hard-working. Many of the most listened to and watched television programs, films and music closely align to the UK. Working with people in South Africa is an easy cultural fit and can foster good project results and easy collaboration.
South Africa’s workforce is highly trained with an above-average number of people in further education and a growing number of graduates. Most importantly there is a good supply of workers in a range of disciplines from customer services, to marketing, IT, accounts, and software development. The range and depth of the skills on offer make South Africa an attractive destination for complex and demanding jobs.
The rise of digital technology is breaking down borders around the world. Thanks to video conferencing software and other remote collaboration tools it is now possible to engage with talent around the world. Today businesses may be routinely working on projects with a multi-disciplinary team of people working in many different parts of the world.
South Africa represents a vibrant market, and is often referred to as a gateway to Africa. Outsourcing operations may not only support your work in the UK, but it can also be the first step to expanding your work into the new and exciting markets on offer around Africa.
Get started in 3 simple steps
Find out how easy it is to outsource to South Africa with Future Teams
We source candidates from our database and all the major job boards.
You interview the top candidates from our pre-screening process.
We hire your team members through our in-country entities. We take care of all payroll, local taxes, HR and employment legislation.
Recruitment:
We source candidates from our database and all the major job boards.
Interviews: You interview the top candidates from our pre-screening process.
Onboarding: We hire your team members through our in-country entities. We take care of all payroll, local taxes, HR and employment legislation.
Outsourcing to South Africa made easy
Outsourcing to South Africa is a great way to access high-quality, cost-effective talent. We make it easy to hire remote staff in a vast range of roles from customer services to financial services, IT support, digital marketing, and much more.
What roles can be outsourced to South Africa?
Companies are choosing South Africa for a range of roles and business activities. The most common roles are sales, customer services, accounts, digital marketing and administration. A growing number of companies are switching outsourced teams from places such as India to South Africa.
A convenient time zone plus a shared language allows for smooth communication. Workers in South Africa are fluent in English with a clear neutral accent which avoids the communication barriers that so often cause problems elsewhere.
The fascinating part of South Africa lies in the range and depth of talent available. Businesses can have access to a wide-ranging and varied pool of talent capable of providing support in an extensive range of disciplines. Essentially any role that can be performed remotely in in the UK can be outsourced to South Africa. Communication can flow easily between all sides. Engagement with a remote worker in Cape Town might in all practical terms, be no different than a remote worker in London.
Salaries in South Africa
In general, salaries in South Africa are around 50%-60% lower than in the UK. The relatively small premium you pay compared to other outsourcing locations represents excellent value for money. South Africa provides a best of both worlds solution – high-quality staff members, at a fraction of the price you’d expect locally.
South Africa sits between developed Western economies and the traditional low-cost outsourcing powerhouses such as India and the Philippines. Businesses have begun to realise that although the bottom line may look good initially, there are all sorts of legal, and reputational costs associated with a lower-quality output in the more established outsourcing markets. Many have begun to look for alternatives. South Africa with its highly diverse and educated workforce, cultural similarities, convenient time difference, and shared language represents an ideal alternative.
Staff entitlements in South Africa
Full-time employees are entitled to:
Annual leave: Employees will be entitled to 15 annual leave days, plus South African Public holidays. (We can request that they take UK bank holidays off if this works better for you).
Maternity leave: Maternity leave starts four weeks before the due date and employees are entitled to four consecutive months of leave. All this leave is unpaid but employees can make claims to the unemployment insurance fund. Employees will not be able to start work again within six weeks of the birth without special clearance from a medical professional.
Parental leave: 10 consecutive days of unpaid leave.
Sick leave: Employees are entitled to 30 days of sick leave at full pay over three years. This only kicks into effect after the first six months of work. During that initial time, an employee gets a day’s sick leave for every 2 months worked.
Outsourcing Vs Employer of Record
When outsourcing with Future Teams we will handle the recruitment and salary negotiations for you. You will have an outsourcing agreement with us whereby the employee’s wages and our fees are combined into one single invoice. Due to the nature of the agreement between us, we can employ employees in a manner whereby 30 days’ notice can be served to terminate their contract at any time, without the need to follow a grievance procedure or risk falling under redundancy regulations.
When using us as Employer of Record you will handle recruitment and salary negotiations yourself. Although we will be the employee’s legal employer, our contract with you means you must allow us to meet our obligations as an employer in South Africa. Staff are employed as permanent members of staff, which means all of the rules around permanent employees in South Africa, such as grievance procedures, unfair dismissal, and redundancy regulations must be followed.
What roles can be outsourced to South Africa?
Companies are choosing South Africa for a range of roles and business activities. The most common roles are sales, customer services, accounts, digital marketing and administration. A growing number of companies are switching outsourced teams from places such as India to South Africa.
A convenient time zone plus a shared language allows for smooth communication. Workers in South Africa are fluent in English with a clear neutral accent which avoids the communication barriers that so often cause problems elsewhere.
The fascinating part of South Africa lies in the range and depth of talent available. Businesses can have access to a wide-ranging and varied pool of talent capable of providing support in an extensive range of disciplines. Essentially any role that can be performed remotely in in the UK can be outsourced to South Africa. Communication can flow easily between all sides. Engagement with a remote worker in Cape Town might in all practical terms, be no different than a remote worker in London.
Salaries in South Africa
In general, salaries in South Africa are around 50%-60% lower than in the UK. The relatively small premium you pay compared to other outsourcing locations represents excellent value for money. South Africa provides a best of both worlds solution – high-quality staff members, at a fraction of the price you’d expect locally.
South Africa sits between developed Western economies and the traditional low-cost outsourcing powerhouses such as India and the Philippines. Businesses have begun to realise that although the bottom line may look good initially, there are all sorts of legal, and reputational costs associated with a lower-quality output in the more established outsourcing markets. Many have begun to look for alternatives. South Africa with its highly diverse and educated workforce, cultural similarities, convenient time difference, and shared language represents an ideal alternative.
Staff entitlements in South Africa
Full-time employees are entitled to:
Annual leave: Employees will be entitled to 15 annual leave days, plus South African Public holidays. (We can request that they take UK bank holidays off if this works better for you).
Maternity leave: Maternity leave starts four weeks before the due date and employees are entitled to four consecutive months of leave. All this leave is unpaid but employees can make claims to the unemployment insurance fund. Employees will not be able to start work again within six weeks of the birth without special clearance from a medical professional.
Parental leave: 10 consecutive days of unpaid leave.
Sick leave: Employees are entitled to 30 days of sick leave at full pay over three years. This only kicks into effect after the first six months of work. During that initial time, an employee gets a day’s sick leave for every 2 months worked.
Outsourcing Vs Employer of Record
When outsourcing with Future Teams we will handle the recruitment and salary negotiations for you. You will have an outsourcing agreement with us whereby the employee’s wages and our fees are combined into one single invoice. Due to the nature of the agreement between us, we can employ employees in a manner whereby 30 days’ notice can be served to terminate their contract at any time, without the need to follow a grievance procedure or risk falling under redundancy regulations.
When using us as Employer of Record you will handle recruitment and salary negotiations yourself. Although we will be the employee’s legal employer, our contract with you means you must allow us to meet our obligations as an employer in South Africa. Staff are employed as permanent members of staff, which means all of the rules around permanent employees in South Africa, such as grievance procedures, unfair dismissal, and redundancy regulations must be followed.
Pricing
Find out how much we can save your business on recruitment and wage costs
Outsourcing
for clients looking for recruitment + a more flexible way of hiring
Custom
- Recruitment
- Onboarding to include contracts & payroll
- Ongoing HR
- Remote worker productivity software
- Pre-employment screening to include employer referencing, identity & qualification checks
- Cancel at anytime with 30 days notice (no grievance procedure required)
- No salary deposit required
Employer of Record
for clients who already have candidates ready to go
- Onboarding to include contracts & payroll
- Ongoing HR
- Remote worker productivity software + £15 p/month
- Pre-employment screening to include employer referencing, identity & qualification checks + £95 one off fee
- Full grievance procedure required to manage performance or terminate employment
- 2-month salary deposit required
from
£
800
per month
Inc. wages & fees
Personal
for individuals and recruits
Custom
- Powerful Admin Panel
- 1 Native Android App
- Multi-Language Support
- Free SSL Certificate
Personal
for individuals and recruits
- Powerful Admin Panel
- 1 Native Android App
- Multi-Language Support
- Free SSL Certificate
Business
for individuals and recruits
- Powerful Admin Panel
- 1 Native Android App
- Multi-Language Support
- Free SSL Certificate
Enterprise
for individuals and recruits
- Powerful Admin Panel
- 1 Native Android App
- Multi-Language Support
- Free SSL Certificate
from
£
800
per month
Inc. wages & fees
Book a free consultation
A quick intro call to find out more about Future Teams and how we work
from
£
800
per month
Inc. wages & fees
Plan your outsourcing strategy
South Africa’s outsourcing market is ripe with opportunity. Few other locations offer the same combination of low labor costs with a highly skilled, diverse, skillset.
To help plan your South African outsourcing strategy, download our PDF today.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Outsourcing to South Africa is an attractive option for several reasons.
Labour is cheaper: The cost of labour might be higher in South Africa than in low-cost destinations such as the Philippines and India, but it’s still a massive discount on more developed Western economies such as the UK. On average salaries are 50-60% lower than the UK.
Language skills: English is widely spoken across South Africa with a clear neutral accent making it easy to engage with customers in the UK. In addition, there is a host of languages spoken across the country making it an attractive option for translation services.
Time zone: South Africa is only one or two hours ahead of the UK dependant on the time of year.
The workforce is educated: Education levels are high contributing to a young, highly skilled, and diverse workforce across all industries.
Infrastructure is good: High-speed internet is widely available which means remote teams can collaborate freely and easily with their domestic counterparts.
The most popular industry outsourcing to South Africa is customer service. However, the depth and breadth of the talent in the country make it ideal for a host of sectors including finance, marketing, IT, web design, software development, legal support, and many others. A rich talent pool helps businesses of all sizes access affordable, but highly skilled professionals across all disciplines.
It depends on the industry and what support is available. Salaries in sectors such as software development may be between 40% and 70% lower than in Western countries, while customer service might be around 60% cheaper. It also depends on the city, with Johannesburg having a reputation for offering low-cost, but highly skilled labour.
Overall, the cost of labour in South Africa will be considerably lower than in the UK.
It is fast becoming one of the most popular outsourcing industries in South Africa. Johannesburg and Cape Town have both earned themselves reputations as IT hubs, however, there is a rich source of talent across the country.
Outsourcing IT operations can be cheaper, but it’s also a way to access talent that might not be available locally.
If you’re a small business, for example, it can be difficult to find the best software developers both from a practical and cost perspective. Good IT professionals are in high demand which means SMEs often struggle to get a look in.
Turning to South Africa, however, can connect you with talented individuals at a price you can afford.
The major benefit of outsourcing to South Africa is that it has a good reputation for quality. Outsourcing companies have robust quality control measures in place to ensure best practices are met at all times. To ensure the highest possible level of quality prioritise working with those partners who have a successful track record and a demonstrable commitment to excellence in everything they do.
English is spoken widely across South Africa. Workers are generally fluent with a clear accent which makes them ideal for customer service operations.
South Africa is a multi-lingual country with many people being fluent in two or more European and African languages. This makes it a good option for translation or providing a gateway to other African markets.
Time zones are a good match for the UK with only a one or two hour difference depending on the time of year.
As with any country, South Africa has a host of legal considerationsm. Working with Future Teams ensures all of the below is taken care of for you:
Labour laws: South Africa’s labour laws are strict with limitations on working hours, stipulations about equality and working conditions.
Employee classification: We will make sure all South African workers are classified correctly. Fines for practices such as bogus self employment can be high.
Tax and PAYE: All businesses have certain reporting obligations when managing employees and paying taxes.
A good time zone match and excellent online connectivity make it easy to communicate with your South African-based team. Video conferencing solutions, email and instant messaging mean you can collaborate with South African workers in real-time.
South Africa’s culture is a good match for the UK. It shares the same language and many of the same sports making it easy to engage and relate with customers.
South African working practices are generally clear and hierarchical with employees having a strong sense of loyalty to their workplaces. Clear communication is highly valued and will be important in fostering a positive working atmosphere.
When searching for a reliable outsourcing partner look for companies with a strong reputation and a successful track record.
Work closely with them to understand what type of services they offer, the pricing levels, and how you will collaborate on employment.
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