The major Gauteng metros (Ekurhuleni, City of Johannesburg and City of Tshwane) have municipal by-laws that regulate parking attendants / car watchers (car guards). Short answer up front:
There is no Gauteng municipal by-law that expressly says a person or agency may charge a car-guard a “standing” or “bay” fee before they may start working. Municipal by-laws instead regulate the conduct, registration and duties of parking attendants/car watchers (and often prohibit demanding fees from motorists). The common practice of forcing guards to pay a daily “standing fee” appears to be an informal / exploitative arrangement and is legally questionable — it’s not positively authorised by the municipal laws I checked.
Below are the findings by municipality plus practical next steps.
What I found (high-level)
Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality
Ekurhuleni’s Police Services By-Laws and related municipal code contain explicit rules for parking attendants / car watchers (registration, ID, attendance records, conduct). The by-laws include conduct provisions (e.g. parking attendants must be registered and must not demand a donation/fee from the driver). They place duties on organisations that deploy parking attendants. They do not explicitly say an agency may charge the guard a standing/bay fee to work — and the rules about registration and conduct strongly point toward regulation of the activity rather than permitting fees to be extorted from guards.
City of Johannesburg (Joburg)
Joburg has multiple parking/ public-roads / parking-grounds by-laws and policies that regulate parking and activities on public roads. These by-laws include regulation of services on public roads (and the City publishes parking by-laws and public-road by-laws). I couldn’t find any clause that expressly permits the practice of charging guards a daily “standing fee” to access work. The City’s regulatory approach is to control who may operate parking services and how.
City of Tshwane
Tshwane publishes by-laws and draft parking meter / passenger bylaws and other public-amenity by-laws. The searchable by-law material regulates parking/parking meters and public amenities; again, I found no clause that expressly gives agencies the right to charge car-guards a standing fee. The by-laws focus on regulation, permits and conduct.
National / regulatory context
PSIRA regulates private security, and car-guarding (as a security service) falls within PSIRA oversight where the provider is doing a security function. Reports and research note that the bay/standing fee practice is widespread and critiqued as exploitative; it also raises questions about registration, classification and labour-law compliance.
What this means in practice
Municipal by-laws regulate who may provide car-watching/parking-attendant services and the conduct of those attendants; they generally do not legalise the practice of charging guards to work.
If a guard is effectively an employee, labour law would normally forbid arrangements where the employer requires the employee to pay to get or keep a job (and unlawful deductions/poverty wages may apply). If the guard is being treated as an independent contractor, a written commercial contract that clearly allocates risk might change the legal picture — but the typical informal “pay daily to work, only earn tips” model is usually exploitative and vulnerable to challenge.
Practical steps / options (if you or someone is affected)
1. Ask to see a written contract and proof of registration (PSIRA number / municipal authorisation) from the agency/property owner. Keep copies/photos.
2. Get receipts for any fee paid (if the agency refuses a receipt that’s a red flag). Photograph or record dates/times/amounts.
3. Report to municipal by-law enforcement / metro police (Joburg/Tshwane/Ekurhuleni have by-law enforcement units). Provide names, dates, photos and copies of any receipts or notices. Use the by-law complaint channels on the city websites.
4. Report / check with PSIRA — if the “car-guard” activity constitutes a security service they should be PSIRA-registered. Non-registration is a regulatory breach.
5. If you are effectively an employee, consider contacting the Department of Employment and Labour, the CCMA or a labour lawyer about mis-classification, unlawful deductions or unfair labour practices.
6. Collect evidence (photos of signage, written rules, payments, witnesses) — this helps any complaint or CCMA case.
7. Consider community action — other guards affected can lodge a collective complaint with the municipality or labour department; NGOs and legal-aid organisations sometimes assist.
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