When your household costs climb, it is tempting to cut your domestic worker's hours or days to save money. You can change a working arrangement, but only by real, written agreement with your worker. Cutting hours on your own to soften the cost of the minimum wage is an unfair labour practice under the law, and it can land you at the CCMA with an order to pay back wages. The 2026 squeeze hit employers and workers at the same time, so here is how to manage it without breaking the law.
The cost pressures behind the squeeze
Household employers felt the pinch from several directions at once in 2026. The legally required wage increase took effect on 1 March. In April, the electricity tariff went up by 8.76%, fuel prices climbed by up to R4 per litre, and grocery prices kept rising.
The Competition Commission's Cost of Living report, released on 2 April 2026, showed how steep the longer-term rises have been. Between July 2020 and January 2026, electricity prices rose by roughly 85% and water tariffs by about 68%. General inflation over the same period was around 30%.
Against that backdrop, the 5% increase in the National Minimum Wage to R30.23 per hour looked small on its own, but it landed on top of every other cost.
What the squeeze means for domestic workers
Workers felt it just as hard. The PMBEJD Household Food Basket, which tracks the monthly cost of basic groceries for a family, came to R5,328.53 in March 2026.
A worker earning the legal minimum for a standard 40-hour week took home about R5,236 a month. At 45 hours a week, the legal maximum, that rose to roughly R5,895. Either way, the food basket alone swallowed between 90% and 100% of a minimum-wage income, leaving almost nothing for transport, electricity, school fees or anything else.
Why cutting hours can cost you more
When money is tight, many employers think about cutting a worker's hours or days. Be careful here. Section 4(8) of the National Minimum Wage Act says that changing someone's hours of work on your own, as a way of dealing with the minimum wage, is an unfair labour practice.
Quiet reductions without genuine, informed agreement can lead to disputes at the CCMA (the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, which hears workplace disputes), orders to pay back wages, and a damaged working relationship.
Four steps to manage your costs legally
1. Have an honest talk about the working pattern. If you genuinely need fewer working days, you can agree a new arrangement, but it has to be real agreement, written down, with both of you clear on the new hours, the pay rate and the date it starts. The minimum wage applies to every hour worked. The four-hour rule also means that any day your worker comes in, you must pay for at least four hours, which is R120.92 at the current rate.
2. Work out the total cost to your household. Many employers look only at the hourly rate and forget the statutory costs. UIF adds a 1% employer contribution, about R59 a month for a full-time worker. COIDA (the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act cover) costs R560 a year. These are not optional, so budget for them upfront.
3. Look at the arrangement you actually need. Some households pay for more hours than they really use. A clear three-day arrangement at the correct hourly rate, agreed by both sides, can be more sustainable than a five-day arrangement that strains everyone. What separates this from an illegal hours cut is consent, documentation and being open about it.
4. Keep your paperwork up to date. A written contract that reflects the real working arrangement protects both of you. If a dispute ever arises, the employer with a signed contract and consistent payslips is in a far stronger position than one relying on an informal, verbal deal.
When compliance slips, everyone loses
During a cost squeeze it is tempting to let things slide: skip registering the worker for UIF, pay a rate that does not quite meet the minimum wage, or cut days without a proper agreement. Any short-term saving can be wiped out by a CCMA finding, or by the cost of a workplace injury when there is no COIDA cover. The person who loses most is the worker, because these shortcuts strip away protections they are legally entitled to.
How to adjust fairly
The 2026 squeeze was real for both households and workers. You can adjust a working arrangement to fit your budget, but only through honest, written agreement, never a quiet cut. Keep the contract current, pay at least the minimum for every hour worked, and budget for UIF and COIDA, and you protect both your household and your worker.
You can check any wage or hours change against the law with the Fair Wage Calculator, and AskMandla can keep your contract, payslips and UIF admin sorted over WhatsApp so the paperwork always matches what is really happening.