Technical article

What Household Help Costs in South Africa

In South Africa, a person who works in your home is an employee.

By Neil Solomon · 4 min read

Picture a couple named Don and Marilyn. Both are 66. They are thinking about a house in Cape Town with a garden. At home they pay a cleaner by the visit and never think about it. They wonder if it works the same way there.

In South Africa, a person who works in your home is an employee. The law has a minimum wage for that work, and the employer has a few duties. None of it is hard to read, but it is more than handing over cash.

The minimum hourly rate

The Department of Employment and Labour announced the 2026 rate on 3 February 2026. In its words: "Employment and Labour Minister, Nomakhosazana Meth today (03 February 2026) announced a rise in the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for 2026 from R28,79 to R30,23 for each ordinary hour worked." The department says the new rate became binding on 1 March 2026.

The Government Gazette notice says "domestic workers are entitled to a minimum wage of R30,23 per hour." The department's 2026 flyer says the same: "ALL WORKERS INCLUDING FARM WORKERS AND DOMESTIC WORKERS MUST EARN A MINIMUM RATE OF R30,23 per hour."

That is the same rate as for everyone else. The page I read does not set a lower rate for domestic work. One public works programme is listed at ZAR 16.62 an hour, but that is a government job scheme and not a household.

What that looks like in a month

These are my arithmetic, using ZAR 30.23 an hour and 4.33 weeks in a month. They show the minimum only. Many households pay more.

Other duties for the employer

Unemployment insurance (UIF). The tax authority says the employee pays "1% of the remuneration paid by the employer" and "The employer must pay a total contribution of 2%." So the employer's own share is 1% and the worker's share is 1%, and the employer pays the full 2% in. A government statement on domestic workers from 2007 says the same split. The tax authority page lists a ceiling of ZAR 17,712 of pay a month, effective 1 June 2021. That page is old, and no newer figure was found. Another official guide says a domestic worker must be working "for more than 24 hours per month to be registered." On 20 hours a week, my arithmetic gives UIF of about ZAR 26 from each side.

Injury cover (Compensation Fund). An official government magazine from May 2022 says: "Domestic workers are required to be registered with the Compensation Fund, regardless of their working hours." The employer does the registering. The Department of Employment and Labour says these benefits were extended to domestic workers in 2020 after a Constitutional Court ruling.

What is left open

• Ordinary working hours a week, leave days, notice periods, and rules on pay for room and board. The Western Cape government page only says the sectoral determination covers "wages, hours of work, leave and termination of employment" and gives no figures. Sectoral Determination 7 is the document to read.
• Whether the UIF ceiling has changed since 2021.
• Any official average of what households actually pay. The minimum is a floor, not a typical price.

A South African accountant or lawyer could confirm what applies to a foreign resident who hires staff.