South African petrol attendants earn a minimum of R7,850 per month, though the real figure is likely higher than this for many workers.
According to new data from the Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), roughly 140,000 people are employed in various positions at petrol stations across South Africa.
These individuals play a valuable role in the daily lives of motorists and are critical to the overall functioning of forecourts.
In addition to refueling cars, attendants are responsible for routine maintenance checks covering everything from cleaning windshields to checking a car engine’s oil and water levels, and ensuring that the tyres are correctly inflated.
For these efforts, petrol attendants are paid at a higher rate than the national minimum wage, earning at least R43.61 per hour.
That works out to to R1,962.45 per week, or R7,850 per month.
This is the current national minimum for petrol attendants established by the Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO), which is in effect until August 2025.
However, many attendants’ actual take-home pay is often higher, as tipping has become an ingrained part of service station culture in South Africa.
TIPS data estimates that forecourt workers typically receive a tip of around R30, and that they will receive around 12 tips over the course of a shift.
This means that attendants are potentially earning another R360 per shift, greatly adding to their final payment total at the end of a month.
This is likely a best-case scenario though, as different sources offer very different information with regards to the tips that petrol station workers receive.
Glassdoor, an online salary and employment firm, conducted a survey that found attendants earn roughly R750 per month in tips in Johannesburg.
The amount that people are willing to tip varies widely as well, as a 2024 BusinessTech poll found that only R13% or readers gave more than R10.
Of this sub-group, 10% said they tipped R20, while another 3% paid more than R20.
Another 27% said they only tip R5, and 44% of respondents didn’t tip at all.
In fairness, one major reason for the lack of tipping is that South Africans don’t carry a lot of cash on them these days, owing to the rise of electronic payments.
In response, certain petrol stations are trying to get around this issue by introducing verified electronic tipping services that motorists can use to compensate their attendants.
A big win for petrol attendants
Last year, Sasol introduced a new feature called “Tipped” that allows forecourt visitors to select an amount they would like to tip their attendant.
The digital platform, created by Kimlynn Temple, has proven to be a success with a notable increase in the take-home pay for attendants.
Temple explained that workers now receive around 12 to 20 tips per day, and that the tips themselves are often higher now that the payments are electronic.
She explained that R30 per tip is now the average figure, and that certain attendants are now earning anywhere from R10,800 to R18,000 per month, including their base salary.
Again, this is an optimistic figure, but it nonetheless shows that tips make a substantial difference to what petrol attendants can earn in South Africa.
Temple added that higher tips are part of a broader psychological and behavioural shift, driven largely by the ease of digital payments.
“As opposed to handing over money, digging for a R5 coin or R10 note, we’re seeing a shift to tipping digitally,” Temple said.
“That’s where we’re seeing the increase, which has been a beautiful thing to witness.”
Reducing the need to dig around for spare change has resulted in a more generous tipping culture, which has increased revenue by up to 40%, she said.
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