Dismissing a domestic worker fairly, and what happens at the CCMA: the complete employer's guide (2026)

Most households that end up at the CCMA did not set out to treat anyone unfairly. They lost patience after a run of late mornings, found money missing and acted the same afternoon, or cut the days a week and called it a fresh arrangement. Then a letter arrives with a CCMA case number and a date, and the employer discovers that the law asks two questions, not one: was there a good reason, and was it handled properly?

This guide walks through both, then through the CCMA process itself, from the referral form to the arbitration award. It is long because the subject is. Use the headings to jump to the part you need.

Domestic workers have the same protection as any other employee

A domestic worker is an employee under the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 (the LRA). That brings the right in section 185: the right not to be unfairly dismissed. It makes no difference that the workplace is a private home, that there is only one employee, or that nothing was ever signed. A verbal agreement is still an employment contract, and the rules still apply.

Three practical consequences follow:

• "It is my house" is not a reason. You choose who enters your home, but once someone is employed there, ending the job is governed by labour law.
• The size of the household helps only with procedure. The 2025 Code of Good Practice: Dismissal accepts that a small employer cannot run a formal disciplinary hearing like a company. It does not lower the bar for a fair reason.
• The CCMA is free and simple to use. Your employee does not need a lawyer or any money to refer a case, so assume any dismissal you make may be tested.

What counts as a dismissal

Section 186 of the LRA defines dismissal more widely than most employers expect. It is not only "you are fired". It also includes:

• Not renewing a fixed-term contract when your employee reasonably expected it to be renewed, for example after several back-to-back renewals.
• Refusing to let your employee return after maternity leave.
• Constructive dismissal: your employee resigns because you made continued employment intolerable. Cutting pay without agreement, shouting and humiliation, or halving the working days so the job no longer pays the rent can all lead here.
• Offering the job back on worse terms after a dismissal.

If your employee resigns freely and in writing, that is not a dismissal. If the resignation followed pressure from you, a commissioner may decide it was one. Keep any genuine resignation letter or message.

The three fair reasons

Section 188 allows only three kinds of reason. Everything else is unfair, and some reasons are automatically unfair.

1. Conduct (misconduct)

Your employee broke a rule of the workplace. Under the Code, the questions a commissioner will ask are:

• Was there a rule? It can be written in the contract, given as an instruction, or be so obvious it goes without saying (do not steal, do not arrive drunk, do not harm the children).
• Did your employee know about it, or could reasonably be expected to know?
• Was it broken? On a balance of probabilities, meaning more likely than not. Not beyond reasonable doubt, which is the criminal standard.
• Have you applied it consistently? If you shrugged off the same thing for two years, dismissing for it now looks like a pretext.
• Is dismissal the right sanction? The Code treats dismissal as a response to serious misconduct or repeated offences after warnings, not a first response to a minor one.

Examples that can justify dismissal for a first offence: proven theft, assault, being under the influence while caring for children, or wilful damage. Examples that normally call for a warning first: lateness, a missed day without calling, poor attitude, or careless work.

2. Capacity (poor performance or ill health)

Your employee cannot do the job, rather than will not. The law treats this very differently from misconduct, because nobody is at fault.

• Poor performance: explain the standard you expect, show where it is not being met, give instruction or guidance, and allow a reasonable time to improve. Dismissal comes only after that, and only if there is still no improvement.
• Ill health or injury: find out how long the problem is likely to last, whether the work can be adapted (lighter duties, fewer stairs, no heavy lifting), and whether your employee could do other work in the household. Dismissal is a last resort for long-term or permanent incapacity. Being off sick within the sick leave entitlement is not a ground for dismissal at all. See sick leave and family responsibility leave.
• Injury at work brings in COIDA as well. See COIDA for domestic employers.

3. Operational requirements (the household no longer needs the job)

The reason is your circumstances, not your employee: you are emigrating, moving to a smaller home, the children have grown up, or you have lost income and can no longer afford a full-time employee. This is a retrenchment, and it has its own procedure:

• Consult before you decide. Explain the reason, and genuinely discuss alternatives: fewer days, a different arrangement, or a later date.
• Pay severance: at least one week's pay for every completed year of service (section 41 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the BCEA).
• Give notice as set out below.

Our separate guide on notice, severance and final pay covers the money in detail.

Automatically unfair reasons

Section 187 lists reasons that can never be fair, whatever procedure you follow. The ones that come up in households:

• Pregnancy, intended pregnancy, or any reason related to it. Dismissing a domestic worker after the news of a pregnancy is the classic automatically unfair dismissal. See maternity leave and UIF benefits.
• Unfair discrimination on grounds such as race, religion, HIV status, age, family responsibility or political opinion.
• Exercising a legal right, for example asking to be registered for UIF, asking for the minimum wage, or lodging a complaint with the Department of Employment and Labour.
• Joining a trade union or taking part in its lawful activities.

The compensation cap doubles for these cases, from 12 to 24 months' pay. That is the single biggest financial risk in this guide.

A fair procedure for a household

On 4 September 2025 the Minister of Employment and Labour published a new Code of Good Practice: Dismissal (General Notice 3470, Government Gazette 53294). It replaced the old Schedule 8 code and the separate code on retrenchments. For a household the most useful thing in it is the plain statement that procedure can be informal and suited to the size of the employer. You do not need a chairperson, a hearing room or a lawyer.

What you do need, for a dismissal for conduct or poor performance:

1. Tell your employee what the problem is, in words that can be understood, ideally in writing. "On 14 and 21 October you left the children alone in the house for about two hours" is clear. "Your attitude is a problem" is not.
2. Give time to prepare. A day or two is usually enough for a simple matter. Do not raise it and decide in the same conversation.
3. Let your employee respond, and listen. There may be an explanation you did not know about: a sick child, a transport strike, an instruction from another family member.
4. Allow someone to assist if your employee asks: a family member, a friend, a colleague from another household or a union representative.
5. Decide after you have heard the response, and consider something short of dismissal: a written warning, a final written warning, or a period to improve.
6. Give the decision in writing, with the reason, the notice period, the final pay and the date the employment ends.

Keep notes of each step with the date. If the matter reaches the CCMA, a short dated note written at the time is worth more than a long story told six weeks later.

Warnings that actually help you

Most household dismissals that fail at the CCMA fail because there was no warning. A good warning is:

• Written and dated, naming what happened and when.
• Clear about what must change and what will happen if it does not.
• Acknowledged: ask your employee to sign a copy. A refusal to sign does not cancel the warning; note the refusal and the date.
• Kept for a period. Warnings are commonly treated as valid for six months for minor matters and up to twelve months for serious ones. After that, relying on an old warning is difficult.

When you suspect theft

Theft is where the urge to act immediately is strongest, and where procedure matters most, because the accusation is serious and the evidence in a home is often thin.

• Do not search your employee or belongings by force, and do not withhold wages to cover a loss. Deductions need written consent and are limited; see loans, advances and deductions.
• Write down what is missing, when it was last seen, and who had access. If other people enter the house (a gardener, contractors, guests, older children), say so honestly.
• Put the allegation to your employee and listen to the answer, exactly as in the steps above.
• Reporting to the police is separate. A criminal case does not replace the workplace procedure, and a dismissal does not wait for a court verdict. The CCMA asks whether it is more likely than not, on the evidence you had, that your employee was responsible.
• Suspension on full pay while you look into it is allowed. Suspension without pay is not, unless your employee agrees.

Probation

A new employee on probation can be dismissed more easily for poor performance, but not without any process. The reason must still relate to the work, your employee must have been told what was expected and given help to meet it, and the probation period must be reasonable for the job, typically a few weeks to three months for domestic work. Disputes about probation dismissals go to a combined conciliation-arbitration hearing at the CCMA (explained below).

Notice and final pay still apply

A fair dismissal is still a termination of employment, so the normal rules on ending the job apply. Under Sectoral Determination 7 for the domestic worker sector:

• One week's notice if your employee has worked for you for six months or less.
• Four weeks' notice if more than six months.
• Notice in writing, except where your employee cannot read, in which case explain it orally.
• Pay instead of notice is allowed: pay the wage for the notice period and end the employment now.

Work out the dates and amounts for your own case:

Calculator by CalcSA - open the notice period calculator if it does not load.

The final pay must include outstanding wages, pay for untaken annual leave (including pro rata leave for the current cycle) and, for a retrenchment, severance. Gross misconduct does not cancel the leave owed; it is money already earned. Give a certificate of service (section 42 of the BCEA) and the UIF form UI-19 so your employee can claim unemployment benefits. Record the last month on the final payslip.

A retrenchment adds severance of one week per completed year:

Calculator by CalcSA - open the severance pay calculator if it does not load.

The 30-day deadline

Section 191 of the LRA gives your employee 30 days from the date of dismissal to refer an unfair dismissal dispute to the CCMA. An unfair labour practice (for example an unfair suspension or demotion that is not a dismissal) has 90 days. Unfair discrimination under the Employment Equity Act has six months.

The date of dismissal is the day the employment ended, or the date of the final decision if there was an internal appeal. A referral after the deadline is not dead: your employee can apply for condonation, explaining the delay, and the CCMA decides whether to allow it. Do not assume a late referral will simply be thrown out.

Check a date here. The example is a dismissal that takes effect on Monday 2 November 2026:

Calculator by CalcSA - open the CCMA referral deadline calculator if it does not load.

For that example the 30th day is Wednesday 2 December 2026. A referral up to that day is in time.

What happens at the CCMA, step by step

Step 1: the referral

Your employee completes a referral form (LRA Form 7.11), describes the dispute and the outcome wanted, and must serve a copy on you. The CCMA accepts referrals online, by email and at its offices. You will normally receive a copy of the form, and then a notice of set-down from the CCMA giving the date, time and venue (or a virtual link) for the first meeting.

• Do not ignore it. If you fail to attend, the matter can proceed without you, and an award can be made on your employee's version alone.
• Check the details: your name, address and the dates. If something is wrong, tell the CCMA case officer in writing.
• If you truly cannot attend, apply for a postponement in writing as early as possible, with the reason. Postponements are not automatic.

Step 2: conciliation

Conciliation is a meeting, usually short, led by a CCMA commissioner whose job is to help the two of you reach an agreement. It is not a trial. Nobody is cross-examined and nothing said there can be used later at arbitration.

• The CCMA must try to resolve the dispute within 30 days of the referral, unless both parties agree to more time.
• The commissioner may meet each side separately and test how strong each case is. Listen to that. It is free advice about how an arbitrator may see your case.
• Most disputes settle here. A settlement is a written agreement signed by both of you, usually a payment and sometimes a certificate of service or a neutral reference. Once signed it is binding, and it can be made an arbitration award if it is not honoured.
• If there is no agreement, the commissioner issues a certificate saying the dispute remains unresolved.

Bring to conciliation: the contract, any written warnings, your dated notes, the dismissal letter, the last payslips and proof of UIF registration. Being able to show that you followed a procedure changes the conversation.

Step 3: arbitration

If conciliation fails, a dismissal for conduct or capacity, or where the reason is unknown, goes to arbitration at the CCMA. Your employee must request it, normally within 90 days of the certificate. Arbitration is a hearing:

• The employer goes first in a dismissal dispute once the dismissal itself is not in dispute, because it is for you to show the dismissal was fair.
• Both sides give evidence, bring witnesses and documents, and may question each other's witnesses.
• Lawyers are usually not allowed in a dismissal for conduct or capacity, unless the commissioner agrees because the matter is complex or both parties consent. Expect to present your own case.
• The commissioner writes an award, normally within 14 days of the hearing, with reasons.

An award is final and binding. It can be enforced like a Labour Court order. The only route to challenge it is a review application to the Labour Court within six weeks, and review is about a serious irregularity in the process or an unreasonable decision, not a second chance to argue the facts. Reviews cost real money in legal fees and rarely make sense for a household.

Con-arb: both steps on one day

For some disputes, including dismissals of an employee on probation and unfair labour practices about probation, the CCMA runs conciliation and arbitration back to back on the same day ("con-arb"). For other dismissals it may schedule con-arb unless a party objects in writing in time. If your notice of set-down says con-arb, prepare as though for arbitration: bring your evidence and any witness.

Retrenchment disputes

An unresolved dispute about a dismissal for operational requirements in a small workplace may also be arbitrated at the CCMA if the parties agree, or go to the Labour Court. With a single employee, a case that cannot be settled at conciliation is unusual, and settling is almost always cheaper than litigating.

What the CCMA can order

If the commissioner finds the dismissal unfair, section 193 sets out the remedies:

• Reinstatement: your employee returns to the job as if never dismissed, normally with back pay. This is the primary remedy in the Act.
• Re-employment: back in the job or a similar one, from a date the commissioner sets.
• Compensation instead, where your employee does not want to return, where the relationship has become intolerable, where it is not reasonably practicable (very common in a private home), or where the only problem was procedure.

Reinstatement into a private home is rare in practice, but it is possible, and you cannot rely on the commissioner excluding it.

How much compensation, at the 2026 minimum wage

Section 194 caps compensation:

• Unfair dismissal (no fair reason, or no fair procedure): up to 12 months' remuneration.
• Automatically unfair dismissal (for example pregnancy): up to 24 months' remuneration.
• Unfair labour practice: up to 12 months.

Remuneration is calculated at the rate on the date of dismissal. These are caps, not the amount usually awarded. Commissioners consider how unfair the dismissal was, how long your employee worked for you, how long it took to find new work, and whether only the procedure was at fault. A dismissal with a sound reason and a weak procedure often draws a few months, not twelve.

At the national minimum wage of R30.23 an hour for 45 hours a week, the monthly wage is about R5,894.85:

• 12-month cap: 12 x R5,894.85 = R70,738.20
• 24-month cap: 24 x R5,894.85 = R141,476.40
• A six-month claim or settlement: 6 x R5,894.85 = R35,369.10

Put in your own employee's wage and the kind of case. The calculator starts at the minimum-wage example with a six-month claim:

Calculator by CalcSA - open the CCMA compensation calculator if it does not load.

Compensation is on top of anything else your employee is owed. Notice pay, leave pay and severance are separate claims and are not reduced by an award.

Three worked examples

Example 1: dismissed on the spot for lateness

Your employee has worked for you for three years and has been late roughly once a week for two months. One morning, after another late arrival, you say "do not come back tomorrow" and pay the month.

• Reason: lateness is misconduct, but minor, and there were no warnings. Dismissal is too harsh as a first sanction.
• Procedure: none. No allegation in writing, no chance to respond.
• Likely result: unfair on both reason and procedure. Compensation of several months is realistic, plus four weeks' notice pay and leave pay if not paid.
• What would have worked: a written warning after the second or third late arrival, a final warning if it continued, and dismissal after a hearing only if it still did not stop.

Example 2: money missing from a drawer

R2,000 goes missing. Your employee is the only person besides the family with access during the day. You write down the facts, put them to your employee in writing two days later, and hear the explanation: a denial, and a mention that a plumber was in the house that week. You check and find the plumber was there on a different day. You dismiss with four weeks' pay instead of notice, pay out the leave and give a UI-19.

• Reason: theft is serious misconduct, and on a balance of probabilities the evidence points one way.
• Procedure: allegation in writing, time to respond, the explanation checked, decision in writing.
• Likely result: a defensible dismissal. If your employee refers it, conciliation is a chance to explain your evidence. If it goes to arbitration, your dated notes and the check on the plumber are your case.

Example 3: dismissed after announcing a pregnancy

Your employee of two years tells you about a pregnancy. A month later you say the household "needs someone more reliable" and give four weeks' notice.

• Reason: the timing makes the pregnancy look like the real reason. If the commissioner agrees, the dismissal is automatically unfair, whatever the stated reason.
• Exposure: up to 24 months' pay. At R5,894.85 a month that is R141,476.40, plus the notice and leave owed.
• What the law expects instead: four consecutive months of maternity leave (unpaid by you unless the contract says otherwise; your employee claims from UIF) and the job back afterwards.

Settling: when and how

A settlement is not an admission that you were wrong. It is a price for certainty. Before conciliation, ask yourself honestly:

• Did I warn my employee before the dismissal?
• Did I put the problem in writing and allow a response?
• Could the reason look connected to pregnancy, illness, a complaint or a request for a legal right?
• Have I paid notice, leave, any severance and handed over the UI-19 and certificate of service?

If the answer to any of the first two is no, or the third is yes, an offer at conciliation is usually sensible. Express it in months of pay so both sides can compare it with the cap. Write the agreement clearly: the amount, when it will be paid, that it is in full and final settlement of the dispute referred, and any other terms such as a certificate of service. The commissioner will help draft it.

Pay what you agree, on time. A broken settlement can be turned into an award and enforced, and you lose the goodwill that got you there.

Prevention: what to put in place now

Most of the protection is set up long before any dispute:

• A written contract with hours, duties, pay, leave and house rules such as phone use while caring for children, guests and keys. HomeHR builds one from your answers: create the employment contract.
• Monthly payslips that show what was paid and deducted. They are your evidence of correct pay if a claim adds underpayment to the dismissal. Generate this month's payslip.
• UIF registration and monthly declarations, so your employee can claim after the job ends and so a complaint about missing UIF cannot be added to the dispute. See UIF for domestic workers.
• A habit of short, dated notes when something goes wrong, and written warnings when it matters.
• A pause before acting. Almost nothing in a household needs to be decided the same day. Sleep on it, write it down, then talk.

A checklist before you dismiss

1. Name the reason: conduct, capacity or operational requirements. If it is none of these, stop.
2. Check it is not automatically unfair: pregnancy, discrimination, a complaint or a request for a legal right.
3. Check the history: were there warnings, guidance or a chance to improve?
4. Put it in writing and give your employee time to respond, with someone to assist if wanted.
5. Consider a lesser sanction before dismissal.
6. Decide in writing, with the reason, the notice and the last day.
7. Pay everything owed: wages, notice (or pay instead), leave and, for a retrenchment, severance.
8. Hand over the UI-19 and a certificate of service, and keep copies of everything for at least the next year.

General information, not legal advice. Every figure we use is on the rates page with its source.