Irrespective of the number of hours worked, domestic workers are entitled to earn at least the national minimum wage stipulated in terms of the National Minimum Wage Act which came into effect on 1 January 2019.

The National Minimum Wage Act currently prescribes a national minimum wage of R19.09 per hour for all domestic workers (including domestic workers who work for less than 24 hours per month).[i] It also does not confine itself to employees but rather applies to ‘workers’ which include independent contractors.

The wage payable to a domestic worker cannot be less than the national minimum wage and is calculated with reference to “the amount payable in money for ordinary hours of work”. It specifically excludes payment for:

• transport;
• equipment;
• tools;
• food;
• an accommodation allowance;
• any other payment in kind including the provision of accommodation (this would include access to DSTV, the internet and the like);
• gratuities including bonuses, tips or gifts,
• any other prescribed category of payments (in terms of the explanatory memorandum to the National Minimum Wage Bill, these will be identified by way of regulations in due course).

The National Minimum Wage Act further provides that:

“The payment of a national minimum wage cannot be waived and the national minimum wage takes precedence over any contrary provision in any contract, collective agreement, sectoral determination or law, except a law amending [the National Minimum Wage] Act;

What appears from the above is that irrespective of the additional benefits provided, a domestic worker must be paid at least R19.09 per hour.

Items such as food allowances, accommodation allowances, payments in kind and other benefits are paid in addition to the national minimum wage and cannot be a substitution for it.

Furthermore, in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the sectoral determination, domestic workers who work for less than four hours on a day must be paid for four (4) hours of work (i.e. the minimum payment for a domestic worker will be for four (4) hours on any given day).[ii]

The national minimum wage, however, is just that, a minimum amount payable. There is nothing that prevents an employer from paying in excess of the mandatory minimum wage. Many employers far exceed the mandatory minimum wage of R19.09 per hour for domestic workers. Other employers may pay the mandatory minimum wage but provide additional benefits such as transport or food allowances. Other employers do both.

Contracts of employment should therefore distinguish between ‘wages’ (i.e. the wage paid for hours worked) and ‘remuneration’ which may include the additional benefits referred to above. For Contracts click here.

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[i] See Schedule 1 of the National Minimum Wage Act

[ii] See section 2(4) of Sectoral Determination 7 and section 9A of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act