The rules for domestic workers come from three places: the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), Sectoral Determination 7 for the domestic worker sector, and the National Minimum Wage Act. Here they are on one page, with links to calculators where a number is involved.
Pay
- Minimum wage: R30.23 per ordinary hour from 1 March 2026 - about R5,894.85 a month for 45 hours a week. See what a domestic worker really costs for the full sum.
- Four-hour minimum: a day of fewer than four hours is paid as four hours.
- Payslip: every pay day she must get a written statement of pay, hours, deductions and the period covered. Make one free.
Working hours
| Rule | Limit |
|---|---|
| Ordinary hours | 45 a week: 9 a day on a 5-day week, or 8 a day on a 6-day week |
| Overtime | Only by agreement; max 15 hours a week and 3 a day; paid at 1.5 x |
| Sunday work | 2 x pay (1.5 x if she ordinarily works Sundays) |
| Public holidays | Only by agreement; 2 x pay if worked |
| Meal break | 1 hour after 5 hours' work |
| Rest | 12 hours between days and 36 hours in a row each week, normally including Sunday |
The CalcSA overtime calculator works out the extra pay.
Leave
- Annual leave: 21 consecutive days (three working weeks) per 12 months, fully paid. By agreement it can be 1 day for every 17 days worked instead. You may not pay her out instead of letting her take it, except when the job ends.
- Sick leave: the number of days she normally works in six weeks, over each 36-month cycle - 30 days for a five-day week. In the first six months she earns 1 day for every 26 days worked. For more than two days in a row you may ask for a medical certificate.
- Family responsibility leave: 3 paid days a year, once she has worked for you longer than four months and works at least four days a week - for the birth or illness of her child, or a death in the close family.
- Maternity leave: four consecutive months, which you do not have to pay - she claims from UIF (see the UIF guide). Check dates with the CalcSA maternity leave calculator.
Track all three with our leave calculator; when she leaves, the CalcSA leave pay calculator works out the payout for untaken days.
The written contract
When she starts, she must get her terms in writing. Sectoral Determination 7 and section 29 of the BCEA list what they must include:
- Your name and address, and hers.
- Her job description and where she works.
- Start date, ordinary hours and days of work.
- Wage, how often it is paid, and overtime rates.
- Any payment in kind (such as accommodation) and its value.
- Leave, notice period, and any deductions.
Both of you sign, and each keeps a copy. A verbal agreement is still a contract, but without writing every dispute becomes your word against hers. Our free contract maker fills in every required term.
Ending the job
| Employed for | Notice either side must give |
|---|---|
| 6 months or less | 1 week |
| More than 6 months | 4 weeks |
- Notice must be in writing.
- A dismissal still needs a fair reason and a fair process. Disputes go to the CCMA, which handles domestic worker cases at no charge.
- If the job ends because you no longer need her (for example you move), she is owed severance of at least 1 week's pay per completed year of service.
- On her last day: pay any untaken annual leave, give her a certificate of service and the UIF UI-19 form.
The CalcSA notice period calculator and severance calculator give the dates and amounts.
- Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector (GN R1068, 15 August 2002, as amended).
- Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 - s9, s10, s14-s16, s18 (hours), s20-s27 (leave), s29 (written particulars), s37 (notice), s41 (severance), s42 (certificate of service).
- National Minimum Wage Act 9 of 2018; Government Gazette No. 54075, Notice R7083 (3 February 2026).
- Every figure HomeHR uses, with its source and effective date, is on the rates page.
General information, not legal advice. Every figure we use is on the rates page with its source.