Domestic Help in Cape Town
DOMESTIC HELP
It is very normal in South Africa to employ domestic staff such as cleaners/maids, nannies and gardeners. For many expats in Cape Town, particularly those with small children, the availability of cheap staff is a major bonus. You should not consider employing domestic staff as exploitation, this industry is a major employer in South Africa and the prospect of relatively well paid work also attracts many Malawians and Zimbabweans to Cape Town. There are a number of recruitment companies which specialize in domestic staff such as www.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. R1600 should be regarded as a minimum for domestic help (laundry and cleaning) 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 R100 - R150.
Au-pairs (which confusingly 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 South African staff often head back to the Eastern Cape and Malawi and Zimbabwe staff take the long trip home to see their families. Try to agree 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 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 and nor can their employment depend on this. The chances of infection are actually incredibly low, but it is often sensible to send new employees on a First Aid course, where precautions are explained.
See the Marvellous Maids website for more detail on employing domestic help in South Africa.
It is very normal in South Africa to employ domestic staff such as cleaners/maids, nannies and gardeners. For many expats in Cape Town, particularly those with small children, the availability of cheap staff is a major bonus. You should not consider employing domestic staff as exploitation, this industry is a major employer in South Africa and the prospect of relatively well paid work also attracts many Malawians and Zimbabweans to Cape Town. There are a number of recruitment companies which specialize in domestic staff such as www.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. R1600 should be regarded as a minimum for domestic help (laundry and cleaning) 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 R100 - R150.
Au-pairs (which confusingly 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 South African staff often head back to the Eastern Cape and Malawi and Zimbabwe staff take the long trip home to see their families. Try to agree 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 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 and nor can their employment depend on this. The chances of infection are actually incredibly low, but it is often sensible to send new employees on a First Aid course, where precautions are explained.
See the Marvellous Maids website for more detail on employing domestic help in South Africa.
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