9 July 2026 by Mthobisi Nozulela
The Department of Employment and Labour has warned that employers who hire a domestic worker for 24 hours or more per month are legally required to register them with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
“If you employ a domestic worker for 24 hours or more a month, you must register them with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). It’s not optional, it’s a legal obligation,” Inspector-General Aggy Moiloa said.
This comes as domestic workers have intensified calls for stronger labour protections, with unions warning that many workers remain excluded from basic rights such as UIF registration, fair wages and proper enforcement of labour laws.
IOL previously reported that the average domestic worker in South Africa supports four dependants at home and serves as both the family’s sole provider and breadwinner, according to data from SweepSouth’s 2023 Report on Domestic Workers Pay and Work Conditions.
The survey, which included more than 5,500 participants, also found that the average domestic worker was 37 years old and relied on domestic work as their only source of income, earning about R2,989 per month.
Earlier this year, the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU), supported by Cosatu, also marched to the Department of Employment and Labour in Cape Town, where they handed over a memorandum of demands, calling for urgent government intervention.
At the centre of their demands is a call for Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth to urgently engage with domestic workers and ensure they are fully recognised as formal workers, with access to the protections afforded to other sectors.
Domestic workers are also facing an employment crisis. According to SweepSouth’s 2025 report, the number of domestic workers in South Africa has declined from about 1.2 million before the Covid-19 pandemic to just over 839,000 in the second quarter of 2025.
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government intervention.