Domestic Help in Cape Town

The availability and affordable nature of domestic help in Cape Town is one small luxury that most expats will be able to take advantage of.

Employing regular cleaners/maids, nannies and gardeners is an engrained norm in South African culture, and in many cases, provides economic opportunity for the uneducated masses.

It's important to employ people based on references, either via word of mouth or through advertisements written by former employers.

There are also a number of recruitment companies which specialise in domestic staff such as Marvellousmaids.co.za.
 
How much should I pay?
 
And how long is a piece of string? The minimum wage is R1066 per month for staff in urban areas, but this is hardly enough to live on and will not attract good quality staff, or inspire reliability or honesty. Rather, R1600 should be regarded as a minimum for domestic help in Cape Town and R1800 where they are also required to look after children.

Staff with experience and good references will expect R2500 to R3000. Good cooks and competent drivers can also expect more. Live-in staff will expect food and accommodation as part of the package, and live-out staff may expect additional pay to compensate them for travel costs. Daily rates are between R120 - R200 depending on the size of the job, and should include one meal.
 
Au-pairs (which is what better qualified, usually white, nannies are called) will generally not expect to do housework, but will collect children from school and do the shopping, etc. They can expect pay of anything up to R10,000 per month.
 
What is a thirteenth cheque?
 
This is a payment of an additional month's pay in December; it is a bonus, but is still expected by domestic staff.
 
Annual leave
 
The annual leave entitlement is 21 days, which works out as 15 working days. Staff often want to take leave over Christmas, when custom is to head back to homelands in the Eastern Cape or to Malawi and Zimbabwe. Expats hiring domestic help in Cape Town should try to agree on dates well in advance.
 
New mothers are entitled to 4 months unpaid maternity leave, and the job must be kept open for them.
 
South African staff can often request to take leave to attend a funeral of one of their extended family, the entitlement for compassionate leave is 5 days a year, but flexibility is usually given.
 
HIV / AIDS
 
With the high rate of HIV/AIDS in South Africa, new expats to Cape Town often ask if they can get nannies tested for HIV. Note that you cannot demand that they get tested, nor can their employment rights be compromised by infection.