When a valued employee wants to return to South Africa, you should not have to choose between supporting them and keeping them. Return2SA makes it possible to do both, without the hassle of employing someone internationally.
The challenge
When someone on your team tells you they want to move back to South Africa, it puts you in a difficult position. You want to support them. But you also cannot simply keep them on as if nothing changes. There is no infrastructure, no local payroll, no way to send salary to a South African bank account without running into compliance problems. So most companies end up letting them go, and losing someone they have spent years training and trusting.
The practical blockers are real. Registering a foreign legal entity in South Africa takes months and ongoing administrative overhead that is rarely justified for one or two people. Transferring salary internationally into a South African bank account in Rand creates tax exposure, currency complications, and statutory obligations on both sides that most Dutch companies are simply not set up to handle.
Return2SA already went down this road and will take care of all of it for you. We become the local employer on paper, handling the contract, payroll, tax, and compliance in South Africa. Your employee stays on your team and continues working exactly as before. You send a single monthly invoice based on the hours they actually worked that month, in Euros, to us.
What Return2SA handles
Compliant South African employment agreements that reflect the existing role, salary, and benefits your employee already has.
Monthly payroll runs, SARS tax filings, UIF, and statutory contributions handled correctly and on time, every month.
Ongoing compliance with South African labour legislation, so you are never exposed to local employment risk.
Medical aid, retirement contributions, and other benefits structured to match your existing package as closely as possible, if applicable.
A local point of contact for the employee and for you, for anything from leave queries to contract changes.
You receive one invoice per month in Euro's, from our Dutch entity, based on the actual hours your employee worked that month, covering their salary and our service. No foreign payroll, no currency complications.
Why it works
When a good employee leaves, the real cost is rarely just the salary gap. It is the knowledge they take with them, the months it takes to find and hire someone credible, and the time spent bringing that person up to speed. In technical roles, that process can take the better part of a year.
Keeping the person you already have, in the role they already know, working the same hours for the same team, is always the better outcome. Return2SA makes that possible without creating new administrative complexity for your business.
At the end of each month, you receive a single invoice in Euros, based on the actual hours your employee worked that month. It covers their salary and our service fee. You pay one amount to one party, and we take care of everything on the South African side: payroll, tax, compliance, and HR.
No recruitment process, no onboarding lag, no lost institutional knowledge. The person you trust keeps delivering.
You continue directing day-to-day work exactly as before. Return2SA handles the administrative layer only.
One monthly invoice in Euros, based on what your employee actually worked that month. Transparent, predictable, and easy to reconcile.
SA labour law, SARS tax, and payroll handled end to end. No legal entity to register, no foreign payroll to manage.
Your obligations
Once the arrangement is in place, your obligations towards the employee are limited to the contract and the monthly invoice you have with Return2SA. Everything that comes with being an employer in South Africa, from managing absence and leave to navigating local labour law, sits with us.
When your employee is unavailable due to illness or personal circumstances, the HR and administrative handling is ours. You are kept informed, but you carry no employer responsibility for it. Annual leave, public holidays, and other statutory entitlements are managed under South African law by our team.
The mandatory insurances, employer contributions, and other obligations that come with employing someone in the Netherlands do not apply here. This employee works under a South African contract, with Return2SA as the registered employer.
This also means you are not exposed to the regulatory changes and obligations that employers face in the Netherlands. Labour law changes in South Africa are our responsibility to track and implement. Your agreement with Return2SA remains straightforward, regardless of what shifts in local regulation.
Our offices
Your employee does not have to work from a kitchen table. Return2SA offers access to fully equipped office space in South Africa, designed for professionals working with international employers and teams.
Our primary location is in Paardevlei, Somerset West, a secure business precinct with controlled access and on-site security. Additional offices in Cape Town are available, and further locations in other South African cities are being set up.
What we provide
Reliable connectivity via two independent secure fibre internet connections, with failover to ensure continuity.
Uninterrupted power with backup generators covering the full office during load shedding.
Secure access and IT infrastructure supported through IP whitelisting, VPN access, VDI, and cloud-based computing solutions.
Controlled access precinct with on-site security at Paardevlei, providing a safe and professional working environment.
Large meeting rooms for collaboration, client calls, and team sessions.
A large team of lovely colleagues, free coffee, and a culture that includes activities and events outside of work.
Tell us about their role and timeline and we will explain exactly how the transition would work for your company.
Share a few details and we will get back to you with how the transition would work.