Domestic worker payslip: what must be on it, with a worked example

A payslip is the simplest proof that you paid your domestic worker correctly. It protects your employee, and it protects you if the amount is ever questioned. This guide covers what must be on it and walks through one real month.

What the law says must be on the payslip

Section 33 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) lists the information that must be given to an employee with every payment. In plain terms:

• Your name and address as the employer.
• Your employee's name and occupation (for example "domestic worker").
• The period the payment covers, such as 1 to 31 October 2026.
• The wage in rand, and the rate of pay.
• Overtime and the overtime rate, if any was worked.
• Ordinary hours worked, plus any hours worked on a Sunday or a public holiday.
• The amount and the purpose of each deduction.
• The amount actually paid into your employee's hand or bank account.

A worked month at the minimum wage

The national minimum wage is R30.23 an hour from 1 March 2026. Take an employee who works 45 ordinary hours a week, which is about 195 hours in an average month:

• Gross wage: 195 hours x R30.23 = R5,894.85
• UIF deducted from the employee, 1%: R58.95
• Amount paid to the employee: R5,894.85 - R58.95 = R5,835.90
• You also pay 1% UIF as the employer, R58.95. It is an extra cost to you and is not taken from the wage.

Check your own figures here. The hours and pay start at the example above:

Calculator by CalcSA - open the UIF contributions calculator if it does not load.

Deductions: only what the law or a written agreement allows

• UIF is the standard one. Show it as its own line, with the employer's matching amount noted separately.
• Do not deduct for breakages, a loan or accommodation unless the rules in the BCEA are met and your employee has agreed in writing.
• Whatever you deduct, the payslip must say what it was for.

Public holidays and overtime on the payslip

If your employee works a public holiday or overtime, show those hours and the rate separately, so the total can be checked line by line. Our hours, leave and contract guide explains when each rate applies.

Make it easy

• The HomeHR payslip maker builds the payslip with all of the above and the UIF line.
• Give a copy every time you pay, even if you pay in cash, and keep one for yourself.
• If you pay in cash, ask your employee to sign the copy you keep.
• See UIF for domestic workers, step by step for registering and paying the contributions.

Common mistakes

• No payslip at all. A bank transfer is not a payslip.
• Showing only the net amount. The gross, the deductions and the hours must all be visible.
• Deducting UIF but not paying it over. The deduction and the payment to the UIF go together.
• Throwing records away. Keep payslips and records for three years.

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