According to the Labour Relations Act, an employee meets one or more of the following standards:

• The person’s hours are subject to control.
• The person forms part of the organisation.
• The person has worked for an average of 40 hours or more over the last three months for that company.
• The person is economically dependent on the company to whom the services are rendered.
• The person is provided with the tools for completion of the work by the employer, or
• The person only has one employer to whom their services are rendered.

The criteria for an ‘employee’ are set out in Section 200A of the LRA, and are ‘indicators’ of an employment relationship rather than that of an ‘independent contractor’. They apply to people earning below the earnings threshold (R21 198 per month) prescribed in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.