Why Payroll Flexibility in Africa is so Sought-After
- Last updated: March 14, 2025
A one-size-fits-all approach works for many things…but payroll is rarely one of them.
Many payroll providers offer plug-and-play solutions: they’re easy to implement, easy to run, but also easy to tire of, and can easily become redundant – especially in Africa where each country is so rich, diverse, and unique that there is no such thing as a “standard approach” to payroll.
Besides, needs evolve with time, regulations change, and industry standards evolve, making payroll flexibility a must-have for companies on the African continent.
Here is how payroll flexibility proves essential in Africa:
Adapting to each African country’s particularities through payroll
While all its 50+ countries share a unique continental identity, Africa is also a diverse tapestry of customs, cultures, regulations, labour laws and more.
The question is: can a standard payroll solution adapt to these particularities? Can this payroll solution seamlessly account for labour laws in Zambia for example, stating that beyond the 14 weeks of mandated maternity leave, a woman experiencing multiple births is entitled to 4 more weeks of leave? Further ahead, can this same solution accommodate different labour laws across other African countries?
Or will you, as a client, have to manage several distinct payroll systems across different countries in Africa?
We have eliminated the need for these questions at Africa HR Solutions: our current payroll system has been created with the sole focus of improving payroll across Africa in one database. To do this:
- Each country on our system is set up individually with the required local Payroll Tax legislation and compliance.
- We also print payroll reports as required by the local Revenue Authorities in each of these countries.
- Our Statutory settings are maintained by a compliance team which is informed each time there are changes in local tax law and this is then updated on our system to achieve 100% compliance. Thanks to the high customisation ability of our system, we can accommodate the labour laws for each country without any manual intervention.
- We ensure compliance in several different scenarios. For instance, in smaller African countries where the payroll taxes are mostly done by “local interpretation”, there can be cases where multiple companies within the country have different views on payroll items. Again, because we can customise any part of this process, we have the ability to cater for every and all needs when it comes to payroll legislation.
Adapting to your specific industry through payroll
Beyond countries, does payroll work the same for employees in different industries? Can your current payroll solution manage both workers in the agriculture industry for instance, and workers in the IT & Telecom industry?
In many industries that require manual labour, workers are paid more frequently, on a biweekly basis for instance. Many payroll solutions cannot handle this type of adaptation. As such, as a company, you may well lose your edge on the job market if you are not able to remunerate your workers according to the industry standard. Now imagine if your company employs workers who must all be paid at different frequencies, and for whom the labour law may differ depending on the nature of their activities… Payroll flexibility quickly becomes a must-have.
Stopping salary payments in time
Beyond making payments accurately and on time, there is also the need to do the opposite: stopping payments on time.
For example, there tends to be a high turnover rate among workers in manual labour roles, without much of a notice period, at times. This means that previously scheduled payments must be stopped before the next payroll run, otherwise your company will likely incur a loss. Surprisingly, many payroll companies cannot offer such a service, as it requires disruption of their whole payroll cycle, and rapid action – something they are not prepared for.
Offering different payroll frequencies
Thanks to our in-depth customisation ability, Africa HR Solutions can accommodate the needs of different industries in Africa. We can run Monthly, Weekly and Biweekly payrolls. These payrolls can also be split into various pay runs to accommodate different workforces and industries. With different industries, you might also need to pay employees by the hour – something can easily be set up on our system thanks to our multiple pay runs option.
Besides, we also have the ability to pay employees on different dates within the same company. With specific industries, you will also need to cater for different types of employee contributions such as Unions, Retirement plans or Medical aid. Each of these can be added with their own calculations and set of parameters.
Adapting to a company’s changing needs through payroll
Companies change with time, they grow or shrink, merge with other companies, acquire them… The one constant in all this, payroll-wise, should be your payroll provider’s ability to meet your needs consistently: through recessions and layoffs, to massive hiring and more.
Adapting to a company’s changing needs in payroll necessitates a dynamic approach focused on proactive communication, flexibility, and responsiveness. By maintaining open lines of communication, regularly assessing the client’s evolving requirements, and offering customisable payroll solutions, payroll providers like Africa HR Solutions can effectively address:
- Shifts in staffing
- Shifts in pay structures
- Shifts in compliance regulations
We utilise adaptable payroll technology to ensure that your payroll processes remain accurate, efficient, and compliant with changing regulations.
Additionally, proactive planning and continuous improvement initiatives from our part allows us to anticipate future changes and collabouratively develop strategies to meet your company’s evolving needs, fostering a partnership built on trust and adaptability.
Each company will have its own needs and requirements, and these can change at any stage. Being able to accommodate is part of our process and our promise with each client we onboard. Some examples of these changes are:
- Lower and higher staff turnover
- Changes in pay runs
- Changes in bank systems
- Changes accounting software
In some rare cases there may be companies that change from a Monthly to Weekly payroll frequency or vice versa.
Payroll providers should be able to adapt to the flow of your workforce, especially when it comes to growth. Some payroll providers offer solutions that cannot adapt to these changes, making them unsuitable and inconvenient in the long run. If your company were to grow from 20 to 100 employees, some payroll providers would not be able to keep up with your pace, forcing you to choose another one during a time when you should ideally be relying on a capable payroll partner.
Adapting to different payment methods through payroll
Can your current payroll solution manage salary There is a massive issue surrounding payment in Africa, known as the Cash Challenge. The relatively underdeveloped banking infrastructure in many African countries makes it so that payment through bank transfers (typically the more popular option in the western world) is difficult.
Such payments may take much too long to reach if your workers even have a bank account in the first place. So, generally speaking, cash is still very much preferred across the African continent. To find out more about the Cash Challenge and its implications, click here.
As such, if your current payroll solution cannot handle both cash payments and bank transfers efficiently, you may once again be setting yourself up for failure for not being able to adhere to the local payment standards.
Africa HR Solutions: Your Flexible Payroll Partner in Africa
Africa HR Solutions offers flexible payroll solutions to its clients, supporting them across the years, across 40+ African countries, legislative changes, company growth, recessions and more.
Choose a payroll partner who will be able to support you through all these changes during your expansion in Africa. Ready to know more? Our team is here for you!