For a domestic worker, the law allows only a short list of deductions from pay, and written agreement on its own does not make a deduction lawful. If you lent your worker money or paid them in advance, you can take back no more than a tenth of their wage each payday. You cannot deduct for breakages or damage. AskMandla applies lawful deductions on the payslip.
The general rule
Sectoral Determination 7, the law for domestic workers, lists the only deductions allowed from pay:
- Pay for time the worker was absent without permission. Paid leave, and time off you asked them to take, do not count.
- Up to 10% of the wage for a room you provide. The room must be weatherproof and have a window and a door that locks. If the worker has no other bathroom to use, it must also have a toilet and a bath or shower.
- With their written consent: payments to a pension, provident, medical, insurance or savings fund they belong to, a registered trade union, a bank or registered lender for a home loan, or rent for where they live.
- Repaying a loan or advance you gave, up to one tenth of the wage on each payday.
- Anything a law, a court order or an arbitration award requires.
- Hospital or medical fees you paid at their request, which can be set off against their pay.
Anything else cannot come off their pay, even if they agree to it. You cannot simply dock pay because you are unhappy.
Loans and advances
If you give the worker a loan or a salary advance, you can recover it through their pay, but no more than one tenth of the wage due on each payday. For example, on a wage of R3,120 a month, no more than R312 can come off each payslip, so a larger amount is repaid over several months. Agree the amount and the repayments in writing, and add them to the contract. Each repayment shows on the payslip, so both sides can see the balance. A loan from someone else, such as a microlender or a store account, cannot be deducted from their pay. The only outside loan that can be deducted is a home loan, with their written consent.
Loss and breakages
You cannot deduct for a broken plate or a damaged item from a domestic worker's pay, even if they agree, because breakages are not on the list of allowed deductions. If something is damaged through real carelessness, treat it as a conduct issue and follow a fair process. Any repayment has to be agreed and paid separately, not taken off the payslip.
Statutory amounts
UIF, and PAYE where the worker earns enough to pay tax, are separate. They are required by law and always shown as their own lines on the payslip.
How AskMandla helps
We apply lawful deductions correctly, show them clearly on the payslip, and keep you inside the legal limits.