DOMESTIC WORKERS IN SOUTH AFRICA: A 2025 LEGAL GUIDE

Domestic workers constitute an essential part of the South African labour market and are the backbone of many South African households. They provide indispensable services, including childcare, eldercare, gardening, cooking and cleaning. Yet for generations, domestic workers have been among the most vulnerable employees in the labour market, often exploited, underpaid and denied basic labour protection.

The regulatory environment has since evolved to recognise and safeguard the rights of domestic workers. This article provides an overview of the legal position of domestic work, including but not limited to the statutory protections, conditions of employment, termination, employer obligations and relevant case law.

Definition and Scope of Domestic Work

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act No. 75 of 1997 (“BCEA”) defines a domestic worker as an employee who performs domestic work in the home of their employer. The list includes gardeners, household drivers and caregivers for children, elderly, the sick, or the physically disabled. Notably, this does not include farm workers.

Legal framework protecting domestic workers

Domestic workers enjoy the same constitutional and statutory rights as any other employee. Section 23 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 guarantees the right to fair labour practices, to join trade unions and to strike. Statutory protection is afforded through the following instruments:

1. The Labour Relations Act No. 66 of 1995 (“LRA”), which governs collective bargaining, workplace democracy and unfair dismissals;

2. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act No. 75 of 1997 (“BCEA”), which governs hours of work, breaks, leave, contract of employment and termination;

3. The Occupational Health and Safety Act No. 85 of 1993 (“OHSA”), which imposes a duty on employers to ensure safe working conditions, even in private households;

4. The Unemployment Insurance Act No. 63 of 2001 (“UIA”) and the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act No. 4 of 2002 (“UCA”), which provide unemployment and maternity benefits, subject to a minimum threshold of 24 (twenty-four) hours worked per month; and

5. Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector, which prescribes minimum wages and conditions of employment specific to the sector.

Notably, employers are required to provide written particulars of employment, register workers with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (“UIF”) and ensure full compliance with applicable legislation.

Minimum wage and remuneration

Domestic workers are entitled to the national minimum wage as updated annually by the Department of Employment and Labour. With effect from 1 March 2025, the minimum prescribed wage is set at R28.79 per hour, representing a 4.4% increase from 2024, in line with inflation. This equates to approximately R1 295.55 per week (based on a 45-hour work week) or R5 613.62 per month (based on a month/4.3 weeks).

Sunday work and public holiday work must be remunerated at a higher prescribed rate. Section 16 of the BCEA mandates that employees working on a Sunday must receive double their normal wage (unless they ordinarily work on a Sunday in which case the rate is 1.5 [one and a half] times their normal wage)

Although benefits such as bonuses and/or transport allowances are not regulated, they may be agreed upon between the parties. Employers may, however, never remunerate a domestic worker below the statutory minimum wage, as doing so constitutes a contravention of labour law.

Working hours, rest and leave

The BCEA prescribes a maximum of 45 (forty-five) ordinary hours of work per week. A domestic worker may work up to 9 (nine) hours per day if employed for 5 (five) days per week, or up to 8 (eight) hours per day if employed for more than 5 (five) days per week.

Daily rest periods must be at least 12 (twelve) consecutive hours (reducible to 10 [ten] hours by agreement for live-in workers) and weekly rest must comprise at least 36 (thirty-six) consecutive hours, usually including a Sunday. Where an employee works continuously for more than 5 (five) hours, a meal interval of at least 1 (one) hour is required, which may be reduced to 30 (thirty) minutes by written agreement.

Domestic workers are entitled to the following categories of leave:

1. Annual leave of 3 (three) weeks per year;

2. Sick leave equivalent to the number of days normally worked during a 6 (six) week period within a 36 (thirty-six) month cycle;

3. Family responsibility leave of 5 (five) days per annual leave cycle, applicable after 4 (four) months of employment; and

4. Maternity leave of at least 4 (four) consecutive months, which is typically unpaid but may be supplemented through UIF benefits and/or paid at the employer’s discretion.

Termination and dismissal

The termination of a domestic worker's employment must be affected in accordance with the BCEA:

• A minimum of 1 (one) week's notice applies where the employee has been employed for 6 (six) months or less;

• 4 (four) weeks’ notice applies where the employment has been employed for 6 (six) months or more.

Upon termination, the employer must settle all outstanding wages, accrued leave pay and in cases of dismissal for operational requirements, severance pay equivalent to 1 (one) week's remuneration for every completed year of service. Domestic workers are further protected by the LRA against unfair dismissal, discrimination and abuse of treatment.

What are valid reasons for dismissal of a domestic worker?

The Act prescribes a particular process for each of the following reasons: 

1. Misconduct;

2. Incapacity (which includes poor work performance and/or illness); and

3. Operational reasons/requirements.

There are two elements to dismissals in South Africa:

1. Substantive fairness: Do you have a valid reason to terminate employment? (e.g., poor performance, misconduct, retrenchment);

2. Procedural fairness: Did you follow the correct process before making the decision?

Even with a valid reason, failing to follow the right procedure can lead to the dismissal being unlawful.

Employer obligations

Employers are legally obligated to:

1. conclude written contracts specifying duties, hours, remuneration, leave and termination procedures;

2. register domestic workers with both UIF and the compensation fund;

3. provide pay slips and keep employment records;

4. ensure a safe and fair working environment; and

5. uphold the workers’ dignity and freedom from harassment or abuse.

Failure to comply may result in enforcement action by labour inspectors’ compliance orders and/or litigation before the Labour Court.

Right to organise and unionise

Domestic workers are largely unaware of their rights to bargain and to join unions, so they do not belong to unions or participate in collective bargaining. The South African Domestic Services and Allied Workers Union (“SADSAWU”) are advocates for improved working conditions, greater awareness of rights and representation in dispute resolution forums such as the CCMA and Labour Court. Although unionised rates remain low due to the isolated nature of domestic work and the lack of awareness, SADSAWU plays a critical role in advancing domestic work interests.

Vulnerabilities and challenges

Despite the statutory framework, many domestic workers remain exposed to exploitation, including excessive hours, non-payment of wages and verbal or physical abuse of immigrants. Domestic workers face additional obstacles due to immigration requirements. Further historical injustice lay in the execution of domestic workers from the Compensation of Occupational Injuries and Disease Act No. 130 of 1993 (“COIDA”), which deprived them of compensation in the event of workplace injury or death.

Case law

In Mahlangu and Another v Minister of Labour (CCT306/19) [2020] ZACC 24, Sylvia Bongi Mahlangu, the daughter of a South African domestic worker, Maria Mahlangu, sued the government’s labour office when she was denied benefits under CODIA after her mother’s death in a work accident. The judgment found that the denial of benefits to individuals employed as domestic workers and to their families under COIDA was unconstitutional, thereby extending COIDA coverage to domestic workers, obliging employers to register and pay annual contributions to the compensation fund. The Constitutional Court held that it violated constitutional rights to equality, dignity and social security. Domestic workers are now covered under COIDA, entitling them to claim compensation for occupational injuries and diseases.

Importantly, even if an employer fails to register the employee, the employee retains a right to claim compensation directly from the fund. This precedent underscores the constitutional imperative of equal protection and safeguards the rights of domestic workers.

Conclusion

In the eyes of the law, domestic workers are no longer invisible. Although once excluded from many basic protections, they are now formally recognised within the South African labour law framework, the right to fair wages, regulated working hours, unemployment benefits and compensation for occupational injuries is no longer optional, but a legal duty for employers. It is not only a statutory obligation that employers must comply with, but also a moral one that reflects the dignity and value of domestic work in South Africa.

By Kiara Bahadur

(Candidate Attorney)

16 September 2025

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