The new national minimum wage came into effect from 1 January 2019, with most workers now entitled to R20 for every ordinary hour worked.
There are, however, certain exceptions to the national minimum wage amount of R20 per hour – one being domestic workers, who are entitled to a minimum wage of R15 per hour.
According to Jacques van Wyk, director and labour law specialist at Werksmans Attorneys, a domestic worker means a worker who performs domestic work in a private household and who received, or is entitled to receive a wage .
This includes cleaners and gardeners; a person employed by a household as a driver of a motor vehicle; a person who takes care of children, the aged, the sick, the frail or the disabled; and domestic workers employed or supplied by employment services.
How domestic workers need to get paid.
While the national minimum wage has set R15 per hour as the minimum for domestic workers, this isn’t necessarily what employers must pay.
A key part of the National Minimum Wage Act stipulates that, where sectoral determinations or collective bargaining has secured a rate higher than the national minimum wage, that figure takes precedence.
With domestic workers, the sectoral determination for the sector (3 December 2018 – 31 December 2018) has minimum wages that range from R12.47 per hour to R16.03 per hour, depending on hours worked and the area worked in.
The minimum rates differ according to the geographical area which the domestic worker carries on work, being either “Area A” (which includes Heidelberg and Nigel) or “Area B”, and whether they work more or less than 27 hours per week.
In terms of the determination, domestic workers in Area A and Area B who work for more than 27 hours per week, are entitled to a minimum rate of R13.69 per hour and R12.47 per hour respectively.
Similarly, domestic workers in Area B who work 27 hours per week or less are entitled to a minimum rate of R14.72 per hour.
However, domestic workers in Area A who work 27 hours per week or less, are entitled to R16.03 per hour, with effect 3 December 2018. This minimum rate marks an increase to the national minimum wage of R15 applicable to domestic workers.
The Department of Labour has confirmed that the minimum rate of R16.03 will continue to apply to these domestic workers, the rationale being that an employer cannot unilaterally amend an employee’s terms and conditions of employment, including reducing his or her remuneration.
As of 1 January 2019, domestic workers in Area A and Area B who work for more than 27 hours per week, as well as domestic workers in Area B who work for 27 hours per week or less are entitled to R15 as per the National Minimum Wage Act.
Domestic workers in Area A (which includes Heidelberg and Nigel) who work for less than 27 hours per week are entitled to R16.03
The changes are reflected in the table below:
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