When you employ a helper

There are a few things you must do when you employ a domestic worker. OBLIGATIONS: FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH LAW CAN RESULT IN HEFTY FINES, WARNS EXPERT

Consumers hardly think about themselves as employers, although many of us employ domestic workers. What we also often do not realise is that with employing someone you have certain duties and rights and not sticking to these duties, you can pay a hefty financial penalty.

In South Africa, the moment you hire a domestic worker, even if only for a week, you become a domestic employer with legal responsibilities. Many people are unaware of this and some mistakenly believe that employing foreign workers exempts them from complying with employment laws.

However, the truth is far from it, says Stuart MacGregor, labour law practitioner and official at the South African United Employers Organisation.

“Non-compliance can lead to severe penalties and legal repercussions, including hefty fines and negative outcomes at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

According to law, a domestic worker is anyone who work in a private household, including cleaners, gardeners and caregivers for children, the elderly, or the sick and disabled.

MacGregor warns that failure to comply with your legal obligations as an employer can result in hefty fines and penalties of between R10 000 to R50 000.

And if your domestic worker lodges a claim against you at the CCMA and you are found guilty of unfair labour practices, the worker may be awarded financial compensation that you will have to pay, he says.

There are a few things you must do when you employ a domestic worker:

▶ It is mandatory to sign an employment contract with your domestic worker.

▶ You must give your domestic workers a job descriptions if they work 24 hours or more to ensure transparency and clarity regarding their roles and responsibilities.

▶ You must keep records containing essential employee information, including their ID, occupation, hours worked, pay and contact details. When the employee no longer works for you, you must retain these records for at least three years.

▶ Domestic workers must receive payslips containing salary information on each payday.

▶ As soon as a domestic worker starts working for you for 24 hours or more per month, you must register the worker for Unemployment Insurance Fund and workmen’s compensation to provide protection in case of unemployment and work-related injuries or illnesses.

Domestic workers are entitled to a minimum wage of R27. 58 per hour. You are allowed to deduct amounts from the domestic worker’s salary for medical insurance, savings, pension fund, trade union subscription, order of account payment to a financial institution, rentals and loans or advances (not more than 10% of total wage).

Deductions for accommodation can be deducted but cannot be more than 10% of the total wage on condition that the room is weatherproof and in good condition, has at least one window and a door that can be locked and is fitted with a toilet, a bath/shower or has access to another bathroom.

Ordinary working hours for domestic workers are a maximum of 45 hours per week, with a maximum of nine hours per day when working five days and a maximum eight hours per day when working more than five days.

Domestic workers are not allowed to work overtime of more than three hours in any day and not more than 15 hours overtime per week. You also have to give your domestic worker a meal interval of one hour after working continuously for more than five hours.

As with all employees, domestic workers are also entitled to leave. They are entitled to:

▶ Three weeks per year or one day for every 17 days worked;

▶ Sick leave calculated in a cycle of 36 months at the number of days worked during a six week period.

▶ Four consecutive months of unpaid leave for maternity leave.

▶ Five days per year for family responsibility leave.

When your domestic workers leave your employ, you have to remember:

▶ A contract of employment can only be terminated on notice of not less than one week if the domestic worker has been employed for six weeks or less.

▶ Notice of four weeks is required if the domestic worker has been employed for six months or more.

▶ Live-in domestic workers are allowed to stay on the premises for a month (notice period) or may agree to pay for the accommodation.

If you have to dismiss your domestic worker due to a change in your economic, technological or structural set-up, called operational requirement, you have to pay the domestic worker severance pay. Severance pay is payable only if there was no alternative employment available.

Severance pay is calculated at at least one week’s pay for every completed 12 months of continuous service. On termination of employment an employee is entitled to a certificate of service.

MacGregor says a labour inspector can enter your home to verify your domestic worker’s employment status upon reasonable notification. This is when you should also have all your paperwork and records available.

When you employ someone from another country, such as Zimbabwe, you have additional duties, he says. You can mitigate the risks of employing a foreigner by asking for the worker’s proper original passport and work permit and verifying their validity as well as the expiry dates.

Your contract of employment with the domestic workers must then contain a specific clause to cover the timeous renewal of the work permit.