Guides and answers
Everything about employing someone in your home, in plain language with the law cited and every figure dated. Search for your question, or browse by topic.
Getting started
Employing a domestic worker in South Africa: the complete guide
The contract, UIF, COIDA, pay, leave, payslips and endings, in one read.
How does AskMandla work?
AskMandla is a WhatsApp service that helps you employ a domestic worker legally, from the contract and UIF admin to monthly payslips and salary payments.
What do I need to sign up for AskMandla?
To sign up you need a smartphone with WhatsApp plus a few basic details about you and your worker, such as ID numbers, a start date, working hours, and salary.
Customer case studies
The household that told us our contract did not fit
A household with three workers stopped a contract mid-signature because the standard terms did not fit a flexible arrangement. A customer case study of what happened when a customer pushed back.
Drawing wages she had already earned, before payday
A domestic worker drew part of her earned wages five times over three months. A customer case study of what she asked for, what she was quoted, and the two times we said no.
When a new hire did not work out in the first month
A Gauteng household hired their first part-time worker after their live-in of 18 years retired. It ended within the month. A customer case study of a short employment that still ended lawfully.
Her worker had no smartphone, and it still got done
A Gauteng household signed up a worker of about 15 years who had no smartphone, no street address and limited English. A customer case study of the hardest kind of onboarding, delays and all.
One household, from first contract to a lawful goodbye
Michelle came to us to get her domestic worker onto fair wages. Three months later the same WhatsApp thread had produced a signed contract, a corrected underpayment, and a retrenchment done properly.
She knew the rules and still could not comply
Lee-Ann was not confused about the law and not unwilling to follow it. She had two workers on formal contracts inside two weeks, and her own words explain why she could not do it alone.
For employers
Employing a foreign domestic worker legally
What documents a foreign domestic worker needs, your responsibilities as the employer, how contracts and UIF apply, and how AskMandla sets it up.
Gardeners, nannies, carers and drivers: do the domestic worker rules apply?
Yes. In South African law a domestic worker includes a gardener, a nanny, a carer for someone in your home and a driver employed by the household. The same minimum wage, UIF, COIDA, contract and payslip rules apply.
What you get as an employer on AskMandla
When you sign up as an employer, AskMandla handles your contract, monthly payslips, salary payments, leave tracking, UIF admin, and guidance on tricky situations, all through WhatsApp.
For workers
Pay & wages
The domestic worker minimum wage in 2026
R30.23 an hour, the 4-hour rule, and what fair pay looks like.
2026 national minimum wage update
From 1 March 2026 the national minimum wage rises to R30.23 an hour, and domestic workers get the same rate, taking a full-time monthly minimum to R5,894.85.
Is a 13th cheque or bonus compulsory for a domestic worker?
Whether a bonus is required by law, when it can turn into an expectation, and how AskMandla puts one through the payslip correctly if you choose to pay it.
What can I deduct from a domestic worker's pay?
The short list of deductions the law allows from a domestic worker's pay, the one-tenth limit on repaying a loan or advance, why breakages cannot be deducted, and how AskMandla applies deductions on the payslip.
How billing works: salary, subscription, and fees
Each month you get one invoice covering your worker's salary, any UIF and deductions, and the AskMandla subscription fee, paid by EFT with no extra fees.
Minimum wage update: the March 2026 increase
The national minimum wage rose from R28.79 to R30.23 an hour on 1 March 2026, a 5% increase that applies to domestic workers in full.
PAYE for domestic workers: do I need to deduct tax from her pay?
Usually not. Most domestic workers earn below the R99,000 a year tax threshold. A bonus month, or a part-time worker with several employers, can change that. When PAYE applies, how to register with SARS, and how UIF then moves to the EMP201.
The 2026 squeeze: rising living costs for employers and domestic workers
When household costs rise you can change a domestic worker's hours only by written agreement, because cutting them on your own to offset the minimum wage is an unfair labour practice.
Should you add a transport allowance when fuel prices rise?
When fuel and taxi fares go up, split the pay into a basic wage plus a separate transport allowance, because transport money does not count towards the minimum wage.
UIF & COIDA
The new 10% penalty for late COIDA submissions
A late COIDA Return of Earnings can now be assessed on estimated earnings with a 10% penalty; here is what household employers must submit and how to get it done early.
COIDA for domestic workers: the complete guide for households
Every household that employs a domestic worker must register with the Compensation Fund, whatever her hours. It costs 1.04% of her yearly wages, never less than R560. Registration, the yearly Return of Earnings, the letter of good standing and what to do if she is hurt.
The COIDA Return of Earnings for households: what it is and how to file it
Once a year, every registered household tells the Compensation Fund what it paid its domestic workers. The Fund then sends an assessment of 1.04% of those wages, never less than R560. When it is due, what you need, and what happens if you file late.
A domestic worker with several employers: who registers for UIF and COIDA
Each household is a separate employer. Each registers for COIDA, and each registers for UIF if she works 24 hours or more a month for that household. Who does what, with examples, and where tax comes in.
How to claim UIF as a domestic worker
Step by step, how a domestic worker claims UIF after losing their job, or for maternity or illness, which documents they need, where to apply, and what the employer must provide.
How UIF registration and payments work
UIF is a legal requirement for domestic workers who work 24 hours or more a month, it costs 2% of salary split between you and your worker, and AskMandla handles the registration and monthly UIF admin for you.
How to register your domestic worker for UIF: the complete guide for employers
If she works 24 hours or more a month for you, you register as an employer with the Unemployment Insurance Fund and pay 2% of her wage every month. Who must register, what it costs, how to do it yourself, what we do for you, and how to fix UIF that is behind.
uFiling not working? How to register your domestic worker for UIF another way
When uFiling fails, a household can still register for UIF by emailing the paper forms (UI-8D and UI-19) with a copy of your ID and proof of address. What to send, where, and how to follow up, or have AskMandla submit it for you.
UIF arrears: how to pay the UIF you missed for your domestic worker
You can fix UIF that is behind. Register, work out 2% of her pay for every missed month, add the 10% penalty, declare those months so they count for her, and pay it over. The steps, a worked example and the costs.
Paid UIF but your domestic worker can't claim? She may not be declared
Paying UIF does not link your worker to your UIF number. She also has to be declared under it, with her ID number and start date. How to check, and how to fix it from the day she started.
Contracts & endings
Dismissing a domestic worker who is too ill or injured to work
Ill-health incapacity is a no-fault process, not a dismissal for misconduct. Here is the fair procedure, when ending the job is allowed, what the worker is owed, and how AskMandla helps you do it right.
How to issue a warning legally and respectfully
A warning is an official record of a problem with behaviour or performance; here is when to use each type, how long each is usually kept on record, and how AskMandla helps you word it.
Notice periods for domestic workers
The notice either side must give depends on length of service: one week in the first six months, four weeks after that. Here is the rule, how notice pay works, and how AskMandla holds both sides to it.
Putting a new domestic worker on probation
What probation is for, a fair length, what you can and cannot do during it, and how AskMandla sets it up in the contract.
When a domestic worker resigns or stops coming to work
How resignation and notice work, and why a worker who disappears cannot simply be treated as resigned without a fair process. How AskMandla handles both.
Retrenching a domestic worker when you can no longer afford them
Retrenchment is ending a job for financial or operational reasons. It is no-fault, needs a fair process, and severance is owed. Here is how it works and how AskMandla handles it.
Severance and final pay when a domestic worker leaves
What goes into a final payslip, when severance is owed and when it is not, how unused leave is paid out, and how AskMandla calculates and issues it.
Can I use my own contract with AskMandla?
Yes, you can upload and store your own signed contract, but the AskMandla contract is built to keep you legally compliant, so here is what each option means.
What happens when employment ends
How to end employment legally and fairly, covering notice periods, final pay, unused leave, desertion, UIF paperwork, and how AskMandla handles it all on WhatsApp.
Leave
How annual leave works and how it's tracked
Your domestic worker earns paid annual leave each year, and AskMandla builds it up automatically, tracks it on WhatsApp, and shows the balance on the payslip.
How sick leave works, and when it's paid
Your worker gets paid sick leave based on how many days a week they work, counted over a 3-year cycle, and AskMandla tracks it on WhatsApp and shows it on the payslip.
Maternity leave for a domestic worker
How much maternity leave a domestic worker gets, whether it is paid, the UIF maternity benefit, job protection, and how AskMandla records it and prepares the paperwork.
Payslips
Understanding your payslip line by line
A plain-language guide to every part of a domestic worker's payslip, from basic salary and UIF deductions to leave tracking and net take-home pay.
Payslips are the key to financial access for domestic workers
A payslip turns your domestic worker's income into proof she can use to open a bank account, rent a home or get affordable credit, and it costs you nothing extra to issue.
Using WhatsApp
How documents are signed and shared on WhatsApp
Sign contracts, warnings and other employment documents on WhatsApp, with no app, no printer and secure storage you can open any time.
How to use WhatsApp with AskMandla
AskMandla runs entirely on WhatsApp, with no app to download or website to log into; you chat to handle contracts, payslips, leave, documents, and support.
Money & banking
Sector & news
What AskMandla learned in its first year
A look back at AskMandla's first year, with over R5 million in salaries processed, nearly 1,000 payslips issued and the launch of Earned Wage Access.
From informal to empowered: how household work is changing in South Africa
Household work in South Africa is shifting from informal, undocumented jobs to formal, documented employment, and both workers and employers gain from it.
The state of the domestic sector 2026
From 1 March 2026 the minimum wage for domestic workers is R30.23 an hour, but the legal floor has risen faster than many households can afford, splitting the sector into a formal tier and a large informal one where pay often falls below the minimum.
In the news
COIDA final reminder: file outstanding Returns of Earnings by 31 October 2026
The Compensation Fund has gazetted a final reminder. Employers who have not filed their 2025 or earlier Returns of Earnings must do so before 31 October 2026, or the Fund can estimate their assessment and add a penalty of up to 10%. Households with a domestic worker are employers too.
R500 a month for four visits: what the minimum wage means for a part-time domestic worker
A viral video asked how much households pay their domestic workers. One advert offered R125 a visit. At R30.23 an hour that covers about four hours, and four six-hour visits a month is 24 hours, which brings in UIF.
Labour inspectors to check domestic workers at MPs' homes: what an inspector asks any household for
BusinessTech reports the Department of Employment and Labour plans inspections at Parliament's villages in Cape Town to check that domestic workers are registered for UIF and lawfully employed. An inspector asks any household for the same few things.
The domestic worker minimum wage for 2027: what has been decided so far
Nothing is decided yet. The National Minimum Wage Commission took comment on the 2027 rate until 4 September 2026. A 4.4% projection and a union ask of R33 an hour are in the news, but the Minister sets the rate. Until then it is R30.23 an hour.
Pay below the minimum wage is most common in farms and private homes: what that means for your household
Business Day reports where minimum wage rules are most ignored. The National Minimum Wage Commission found non-compliance highest in agriculture and private households. The minimum is R30.23 an hour everywhere, and food does not count towards it.
The R100,000 fine for employing a foreign domestic worker: what the bill actually says
The Employment Services Amendment Bill would require anyone who employs a foreign national to check they may work in South Africa and keep a copy of their visa. R100,000 is the most a Labour Court could set for a first contravention, and it is still a bill.
It's not optional": the Labour Department on registering domestic workers for UIF
The Department of Employment and Labour's Inspector-General told IOL that registering a domestic worker who works 24 hours or more a month for UIF is a legal obligation. One full day a week already crosses that line.
Can a domestic worker opt out of UIF to keep a SASSA grant?
BusinessTech reports new hires asking households not to register them for UIF so they keep a SASSA grant. They cannot opt out: from 24 hours a month, UIF is compulsory. Whether a grant continues is SASSA's decision, based on her income.
Why UIF claims get rejected, and the part that depends on the employer
IOL set out the documents a UIF claim needs. Two of them come from the employer: the UI-19, and the declarations that put each month's contributions against her name. Without them, a claim stalls.
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