Nannies and childminders: overtime, evening babysitting, night work and sleep-over standby

A nanny's hours rarely fit neatly into nine to five. Parents run late, there is a work function on a Friday night, someone has to sleep over when both parents travel. Each of those is covered by specific rules in the Sectoral Determination for the domestic worker sector - and most of them need something agreed in writing before the evening happens, not after.

Is a nanny a domestic worker?

Yes. The Sectoral Determination defines a domestic worker as someone who performs domestic work in a private household for pay, and says this includes "a person who takes care of children, the aged, the sick, the frail or the disabled". The same definition also names gardeners and household drivers.

• The title does not matter. Nanny, childminder, babysitter, carer - if your employee looks after your children in your home for pay, the domestic worker rules apply.
• The minimum wage applies: at least R30.23 an hour from 1 March 2026.
• So do UIF, COIDA and leave, exactly as for a housekeeper. See the hours, leave and contract rules for the full list.

Ordinary hours: the baseline

Clause 10 of the Determination sets the ordinary maximum:

• 45 hours in any week, and
• nine hours a day if your employee works five days a week or less, or eight hours a day on a six-day week.

Anything beyond those is overtime - including the hour your nanny stays because you are stuck in traffic.

Overtime: when you come home late

Clause 11 says you may not require or permit overtime:

• except under an agreement between you and your employee,
• of more than 15 hours a week, or
• that takes the day past 12 hours, overtime included.

So on a nine-hour day there are at most three hours of overtime available. A nanny who starts at 07:00 cannot lawfully still be working at 20:00.

How overtime is paid

Clause 12 sets at least one and a half times your employee's wage for each overtime hour. By agreement you can instead:

• pay the ordinary rate plus at least 30 minutes' paid time off for every overtime hour, or
• give at least 90 minutes' paid time off for every overtime hour.

Time off must be given within one month, or within up to twelve months if you agree that in writing. An agreement for time off instead of pay made at the start of the job, or in the first three months, is only valid for one year. Sunday and public holiday hours follow their own rules (clauses 17 and 18) - see public holiday pay for domestic workers.

Worked example: a full-time nanny with eight late evenings a month

• Monthly pay: 45 hours a week at R30.23 = R30.23 x 45 x 52 / 12 = R5,894.85.
• Hourly rate: R5,894.85 x 3 / 13 / 45 = R30.23.
• Overtime rate: R30.23 x 1.5 = R45.35 an hour.
• One hour late, eight days this month: 8 x R45.35 = about R362.76 on top of the salary.

The calculator is set to that example. Change the overtime hours to your own month:

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

Night work: the Friday-night babysitting

Clause 13 defines night work as work after 18:00 and before 06:00. You may only require or permit it if it is agreed in writing and:

• your employee is paid an allowance for it - the amount is agreed between you; the Determination does not set a figure, and
• your employee lives at your home, or transport is available between home and work at the start and end of the shift.

The transport condition is the one households miss. If your nanny lives out and normally takes a taxi, a babysitting shift that ends at 23:00 means you arrange or pay for a safe way home.

If evening work becomes regular - more than one hour after 22:00 at least five times a month, or 50 times a year - clause 13(4) adds the health and safety duties in sections 17(3) and (4) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. Read those before agreeing to a standing late-night arrangement.

Night work hours still count toward the daily and weekly limits. Babysitting after a full day is overtime as well as night work, so both the 1.5x rate and the night allowance apply.

Standby: when your nanny sleeps over

Clause 14 covers the common case where both parents are away, or out late, and the nanny stays the night. Standby is any period between 20:00 and 06:00 when your employee must be at your home and may rest or sleep, but must be available to work if needed.

• It must be agreed in writing.
• It needs an allowance of at least R30.00 per shift.
• No more than five times a month, or 50 times a year.
• Only work that cannot wait may be asked for - a child who wakes up ill, not ironing.
• Any time actually worked during standby is paid at the overtime rate, or as paid time off on the clause 12 terms.

Put it in the contract

Almost every rule above starts with "if agreed". A short clause signed at the start saves an argument later:

Then keep a simple record of late evenings and sleep-overs, so the next payslip shows them correctly.

How HomeHR helps

• The HomeHR contract maker produces the written particulars of employment, including your employee's ordinary hours, to sign before day one.
• The payslip maker shows overtime and allowances as separate lines, so your nanny can see what was paid for the late evenings.
• Our hours, leave and contract rules post covers Sundays, meal breaks and rest periods.

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