Call centre agent jobs in South Africa: what to expect

The industry employs people who are beginning their careers and claims that it is expanding. In July 2026 BPESA, the organisation representing the business process sector, stated that 26,346 jobs had been created in 2025 for international markets, about 90 per cent of which were taken by young people.

The guide explains the criteria that call centres use when choosing a new agent, the shift rules established by the law, and the single thing you must never do if you want to secure the job.

What is required in order to work in a call centre?

What employers usually look for includes clear spoken and written English, typing skills and a basic knowledge of computers, as well as the way you deal with a difficult caller. More requirements are placed on a job that involves selling or giving advice on financial products, as the section later on explains.

What sort of work is it? Although the adverts use the term loosely, it's usually one of the following:

• Inbound, you handle the calls, chats and emails that customers send in, including queries, complaints and orders.
• Outbound, you're responsible for making the calls, such as those relating to sales, appointments, surveys, and follow-ups.
• Collections, you get in touch with people who owe money, on behalf of lenders or retailers.
• International, you provide services to customers in other countries, sometimes according to their working hours.

Will a test be given? In certain cases, it will be, prior to the interview. It could take the form of a typing test, a written test on your English, a brief role play over the phone, or a listening exercise. Whatever it is, it's intended to find out two things: whether a customer would be able to understand you and whether you would remain calm. Try out reading a short paragraph aloud in a clear manner and also typing while you're listening.

For your CV include the information that the job will require. Specifically, list the languages that you know and the level of proficiency you have in each, since some positions require a second language. Also give your typing speed if you know it, and include any experience you have working with the public, for example in retail, waiting or in a church office, as this kind of experience is regarded as customer service experience.

Selling insurance or financial products

In the case of a job that involves selling or giving advice about financial products such as insurance or funeral cover, there are additional rules in place. You will then be regarded as a representative under the FAIS Act. The FSCA's fit and proper requirements, as stated in Board Notice 194 of 2017, call for you to receive training in the products that you sell as well as to pass a regulatory examination. You can generally begin working under supervision while you are completing these requirements. Moonstone, a firm specialising in FAIS compliance, lists the deadlines as twelve months for the product training and two years for the exam. Find out from your employer who is paying for the training and the exam.

What are the working hours of call centre agents?

It varies according to the type of account; a local customer service line might have office hours, whereas a collections team or an international account could work late shifts, at night or on weekends. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act establishes the rules for all these cases.

• Standard hours, with a maximum of 45 hours per week, which amounts to nine hours a day when you work five days or less and eight hours when you work more.
• Overtime has to be agreed by you, is limited to three hours each day and ten hours each week, and is paid at least at one-and-a-half times your regular wage.
• On Sundays the wage is doubled for each hour, except when Sundays are included in your ordinary week, in which case it is one and a half times as much.
• Night work, that is work carried out between 18:00 and 06:00, can only be requested by your employer if you agree to it and if it involves either paying you an allowance or reducing your working hours. Transport for getting to and from work must also be available at the beginning and end of the shift. When you regularly work between 23:00 and 06:00, your employer is also required to inform you of the health and safety risks associated with the job. Additionally, you have the right to request a medical examination at your employer's expense.

The rules cease to apply when your earnings exceed the BCEA earnings threshold. From 1 May 2026 this threshold will be R269 600,90 per year, which is approximately R22 467 per month. They will apply to you completely if your earnings are below this amount.

The national minimum wage applies to all workers; it will be R30,23 for each ordinary hour from 1 March 2026. If an advertisement states a basic salary together with commission or performance bonuses, you should find out what the basic salary is by itself, since it is the amount that you will definitely receive.

Should you have to pay for training in call centres?

Not at all; under the Employment Services Act it is illegal for a private employment agency to ask you to pay them for finding you work. If you are being asked to pay for training for a job which you have not yet started, this should be a red flag.

Adverts that are fake when it comes to call centre positions usually adhere to a certain pattern: there is a rapid interview, an offer is made, and then they ask you to pay for training, a headset, a uniform or a 'placement'. In some cases, the only information they ask for is your ID number, your bank details and a copy of your matric certificate before you have even met anyone. How to spot a fake job advert goes through these signs, and agencies may not charge you explains what to do if an agency asks for money.

A good way to check is to call the company's main number from its own website and enquire if the position still exists.

Before you apply

Read the advert for the account together with the job description: find out which company you will be representing, what the customers call about, and the hours that the account operates. A CV that addresses all three of these points, even if it does so in a single line, will be more likely to receive a positive response.

The list of all the call centre adverts on IdealJobs will appear on the call centre jobs page when you are ready, with the most recent ones coming first.

Call centre jobs on IdealJobs→