What rights does a domestic worker have in South Africa?

A domestic worker is an employee with rights under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and Sectoral Determination 7. That includes at least the national minimum wage for every hour worked, a written contract, a payslip each pay day, limits on working hours and extra pay for overtime, Sunday and public holiday work, annual, sick and family responsibility leave, and proper notice if the job ends. The employer must register you for UIF if you work more than 24 hours a month for them, and domestic workers are covered by COIDA for injuries at work. Unfair dismissal disputes can go to the CCMA.

How do I know if my employer registered me for UIF?

Ask your employer for their UIF reference number and check your payslip: a UIF deduction of 1% should appear each month. You can also ask at a labour centre of the Department of Employment and Labour, taking your ID document, and they can check whether you have been declared. If you work for several households, each one should register you for its own hours. Check while you are still employed, not after the job ends, because if you were never declared you will struggle to claim unemployment or maternity benefits when you need them.

Is live-in or live-out domestic work better?

It depends on your situation. A live-in job saves you daily transport costs and time, and suits someone far from home, but the line between work and rest can blur, and your room is tied to the job, so losing the job can mean losing where you stay. A live-out job gives you your own home and clearer hours, but taxis and early starts cost money and time. In either case, the hours you work must be agreed and paid, and a live-in employer can only deduct for accommodation under strict conditions. Ask about all of this before you accept.

Can I get domestic work if I am not South African?

Many domestic workers in South Africa come from other countries, but an employer may only employ you if you have a valid permit or status that allows you to work, and the rules for some nationalities have changed several times. Keep your passport and permit valid and keep copies, and check your status with the Department of Home Affairs if you are unsure. Once you are employed, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and Sectoral Determination 7 protect you in the same way as any other worker, including minimum wage, leave, UIF and COIDA.

How can I avoid fake domestic job offers?

Never pay money to get a job: not a “registration fee”, not a training fee, not money for a uniform, transport or a medical. Real household employers do not ask for it. Be careful with offers that are far away, promise unusually high pay, or ask you to travel immediately, especially to another city or country, and tell someone you trust where you are going. Meet a new employer first at a time and place you are comfortable with, keep your ID document in your own hands, and share your address only when you are sure the job is real.

Domestic Worker Jobs in South Africa: Finding Work, Your Rights, UIF and Staying Safe

Domestic work is one of the biggest sources of jobs in South Africa. Across Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and every other province, households employ people to clean, wash and iron, cook, look after children, care for elderly parents and run the home. For many workers it is steady, respectable work with a family that becomes important to them. For others it is long hours, low pay and no paperwork. The difference often comes down to what you know, and what you ask for, before you start.

This guide is for anyone looking for domestic worker jobs in South Africa: what kinds of jobs there are, your rights under the law, UIF and COIDA, how to present your experience, how to spot a fake offer, and how to find work nearby. It does not give Rand figures, because the minimum wage changes every year; it tells you where to check.

Types of domestic worker jobs in South Africa

The same Sectoral Determination 7 applies to all of these when you are employed by a private household.
Type of job	What it usually involves	What to ask about
Live-out, full time	Monday to Friday in one household: cleaning, laundry, ironing, sometimes cooking.	Start and finish times, transport cost and safety.
Live-in (sleep-in)	You stay in a room on the property; often includes childcare or evening duties.	Your hours and time off, the room, and what happens to it if the job ends.
Part time, one to three days a week	Cleaning and laundry, often for several households.	Whether each household registers you for UIF.
Nanny or childminder	Looking after children, school runs, meals, homework.	Number and age of children, driving, extra pay for evenings.
Carer for an elderly person	Helping with daily care, meals, medication reminders.	Nights, lifting, whether a nurse is involved.
Housekeeper or cook	Running a larger home, cooking for the family.	Budget handling, specific cuisines, staff you supervise.

Gardeners and household drivers employed by a family are also covered by the domestic sector rules. Cleaning work in offices, hospitals or shopping centres, for a cleaning company, is a different sector with different rules. If you want to see the other side of the table, read our guide for households hiring a domestic worker: it tells employers exactly what they owe you.

Your rights as a domestic worker

A domestic worker is an employee. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act and Sectoral Determination 7 for the domestic worker sector set out what every household employer must give you.

Pay and payslip

You are entitled to at least the national minimum wage, set under the National Minimum Wage Act 9 of 2018, for every hour you work. The rate is reviewed every year and the new rate usually applies from 1 March. Check the current figure with the Department of Employment and Labour, and if your pay has not been adjusted after March, raise it politely with your employer. You should get a payslip each pay day showing hours, pay, deductions and what you receive.

Written contract and hours

Your employer must give you the written particulars of your job, usually as a simple contract: duties, days and hours, pay, leave and notice. Keep your copy somewhere safe. Ordinary hours are limited to 45 a week; overtime must be agreed and paid at a higher rate, and so must work on Sundays and public holidays. If you are a live-in worker and are regularly woken at night to help with a baby, that is standby or overtime and should be agreed and paid.

Leave

Annual leave: three weeks’ paid leave per year for a full-time worker.
Sick leave: paid sick leave, counted over a three-year cycle, with less during your first six months.
Family responsibility leave: paid days for events such as the serious illness of your child or the death of a close family member, if you meet the conditions.
Maternity leave: unpaid by the employer, but UIF may pay benefits if you were registered.

Part-time workers get leave too, worked out on the days they work.

Notice and dismissal

Notice is one week in the first six months and four weeks after that, in writing, from either side. A dismissal must be for a fair reason and follow a fair process. If you believe you were unfairly dismissed, you can refer a dispute to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). It is free, and there are time limits, so do not wait. When a job ends, ask for your final pay, pay for leave not taken, a certificate of service and the UIF documents you need to claim.

UIF and COIDA: make sure you are covered

If you work more than 24 hours a month for a household, the employer must register you with the Unemployment Insurance Fund. Each month, 1% of your pay is deducted and the employer adds another 1%. That is what lets you claim benefits if you lose your job, are ill for a long time, or go on maternity leave. If you work for several households, each one registers you for its own hours.

Check that it is happening: look for the UIF deduction on your payslip, ask the employer for the UIF reference number, or ask at a labour centre with your ID document. Many workers only find out they were never declared when they try to claim.

Since the Constitutional Court’s Mahlangu judgment in 2020, domestic workers are covered by the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA). If you are injured at work, for example falling from a ladder while cleaning windows or burning yourself while cooking, report it to your employer straight away, get medical help, and make sure a claim goes to the Compensation Fund. Ask a labour centre if your employer does not know how.

Looking for domestic work near you?

Create a free Hirovo profile, add the work you do (cleaning, laundry, childcare, cooking) and set your area. Households nearby who post domestic jobs can find you, and you can message them.

Create a free profile →

How to find domestic worker jobs and get hired

References are your strongest document

Households care most about trust and reliability, and the best proof is a previous employer who will speak for you. Ask each employer, when a job ends on good terms, for a reference letter with their phone number, and ask if you may give their number to future employers. A letter without a number is easy to fake, so employers will want to call.

What to put in your profile or CV

Where you can work: the suburbs or area you can reach, and whether you want live-in or live-out.
Days available: full time, or which days of the week are free.
What you do well: cleaning, laundry and ironing, cooking, baking, babies, school-age children, caring for an elderly person, pets.
Experience: how many years and with what kind of households, for example “five years with a family with two young children in Randburg”.
Extras: a driver’s licence, first aid training, languages you speak.

A simple one-page CV is enough. For layout and what South African employers look for, see how to write a CV in South Africa.

Documents

Keep your ID document, or passport and valid permit if you are not South African, and copies of reference letters and any certificates. An employer may ask for a police clearance certificate for a childcare or live-in job; you apply for it yourself at the South African Police Service, so only do it once a household is serious about hiring you. Never hand over your original ID document to keep.

At the interview and trial day

Ask your questions too: the hours, the duties, the pay and pay day, whether you will get a written contract, and whether they will register you for UIF. A good employer is glad you asked. If you do a trial day, it is work and should be paid.

Working for several households

Many domestic workers build a full week out of two or three part-time jobs: Monday and Thursday with one family, Tuesday and Friday with another, Wednesday with a third. It can mean more income and less dependence on one employer, but it needs organising.

Each household is a separate employer. Each one owes you a written contract, a payslip, at least the minimum wage for its hours and leave for the days you work there.
Each one registers you for UIF if you work more than 24 hours a month for them. Check each payslip.
Keep a simple calendar of which household is on which day, and agree in writing what happens on public holidays and when one family goes away on holiday: are you paid, or do you swap days?
Plan your travel. Households in different suburbs can mean two taxis a day. Try to find work close together, and include travel time when you agree start and finish times.

When you add a new household, tell them the days you are already committed, so there is no pressure to drop a regular employer at short notice.

Stay safe: fake job offers and warning signs

Domestic workers are a common target for job scams and, at worst, for trafficking. Protect yourself:

Never pay to get a job. Not a registration fee, not training, not a uniform, not transport. A real household does not ask for money.
Be careful with jobs far away, especially offers that ask you to travel to another province or country immediately, promise very high pay, or say someone else will hold your documents.
Meet first at a time and place you are comfortable with, and tell a friend or family member where you are going, with the address and phone number.
Keep your ID document with you. Nobody has the right to keep it.

Finding domestic work with a Hirovo profile

Hirovo is new in South Africa, and making a profile is free. You add the work you do, set the area you can reach, and households nearby who post domestic, cleaning or childcare jobs can see you. You can also apply to posted jobs and message employers in the app, and you decide which ones to meet.

Hirovo does not vet employers or applicants and does not check documents. That means the checks work in both directions: households will ask for references and your ID, and you should ask your own questions, meet safely, and never pay anyone for a job. The employment itself, with its contract, pay, UIF and COIDA, is between you and the household.

Before you accept a domestic job, check:

Hours, days and duties are clear, and there will be a written contract;
Pay is at least this year’s national minimum wage for the hours worked;
The employer will register you for UIF (and COIDA);
For live-in work: your room, your time off, and what happens if the job ends;
You have not been asked to pay anything to get the job;
Someone you trust knows where you are working.

In short

Domestic workers in South Africa have the same core rights as other employees: at least the national minimum wage, a written contract, a payslip, limited hours, leave, notice, UIF and COIDA. Know them before you start and ask about them at the interview. Build your references, keep your documents safe, never pay for a job, and describe clearly what you do and where you can work. That is what makes a good household choose you, and it is what protects you if the job ends.