Hiring a Foreign-National Domestic Worker in South Africa

Key takeaways

• A South African household may employ a foreign national as a domestic worker only when that person's current immigration or refugee status authorises the work. Before work starts, the household employer should verify the original status document, read every employment condition and expiry date, keep the required records securely, and confirm that the permitted employer, role and terms match the proposed job.
• Immigration compliance is only one part of the employment relationship. A foreign-national domestic worker remains entitled to applicable labour protections. The employer must also address written particulars, pay records, leave, UIF where applicable, and Compensation Fund registration.
• Do not rely on nationality, a photocopy, an application receipt or a verbal assurance as proof of a right to work. Do not keep the worker's original passport or status document. If the document is unclear or restricted, obtain status-specific advice before work starts.

A household is an employer

Hiring someone to clean, cook, care for children, provide home-based care, garden, drive or perform related domestic work creates an employment relationship when the legal test is met. An informal or cash-paid arrangement does not remove the employer's obligations.

The Immigration Act prohibits a person from employing:

• an illegal foreigner;
• a foreigner whose status does not authorise employment by that employer; or
• a foreigner on terms, conditions or in a capacity different from those authorised by the person's status.

Section 38 also requires an employer to make a good-faith effort to establish status or citizenship. The Employment Services Act works alongside the Immigration Act and regulates the employment of foreign nationals. A household should therefore complete the document check before agreeing on a start date, trial shift or paid orientation.

Verify the right to work before employment starts

Ask the prospective worker to present the original current document that records the person's status and employment authority. With the person's knowledge, make a secure copy for the employment file and record when the original was inspected.

Check all of the following:

• the name, photograph and identifying details match the person;
• the document type and number are legible;
• the document has not expired;
• employment is expressly permitted where an endorsement is required;
• any named employer, occupation, sector, location or other condition covers this household and the proposed duties;
• the work will not continue beyond the document's validity;
• any verification response or professional advice is recorded; and
• renewal and expiry dates are placed in a diary with time for action before expiry.

A pending application does not automatically grant employment authority. A receipt or appointment confirmation also does not necessarily prove that the holder may perform this job. The operative document and its conditions control the analysis.

Never confiscate the original document. Store required copies and verification notes securely, restrict access, and dispose of them only after the applicable retention period.

The immigration-law hub is the appropriate route for status-specific advice. Labour conditions and workplace disputes remain within the labour-law hub.

Different status documents require different checks

There is no single document called a “foreign worker permit” that covers every lawful route. The household must identify the person's actual status and the authority attached to it.

Permanent residents and visa holders

A visa holder may have employer-specific, occupation-specific or other employment conditions. Do not assume that lawful residence, study, family status or a previous job creates a general right to work for any household.

Recognised refugees

Section 27(f) of the Refugees Act entitles a recognised refugee to seek employment. Confirm the person's current refugee status document and identity, and keep the employment records required by law. Do not demand a conventional work visa merely because the worker is not a citizen when the person's lawful employment route arises under the Refugees Act.

Asylum seekers

An asylum seeker may work only where the right to work is endorsed on the current asylum-seeker visa. Section 22(9) of the Refugees Act requires the relevant employer to furnish the Department of Home Affairs with the prescribed employment letter within 14 days after the asylum seeker takes up employment. The 2019 Refugees Regulations prescribe Form 6 for that letter and require the employment period to fit within the visa's validity.

Confirm the endorsement and current visa before work starts, complete the prescribed process on time, and retain proof of submission. An asylum application on its own is not the same as an employment endorsement.

These categories are not interchangeable. If the document or endorsement is uncertain, pause the hiring decision and obtain advice.

Put the domestic-work terms in writing

The Basic Conditions of Employment Act glossary explains the statutory baseline. Give the worker written particulars that accurately describe the arrangement, even if the work is part-time or the worker is employed by more than one household.

Record at least:

• the household employer's and worker's correct details;
• the workplace or workplaces;
• the start date and whether any fixed end date is genuinely applicable;
• the duties, such as cleaning, childcare, care work, gardening or driving;
• ordinary days and hours, breaks and arrangements for overtime;
• the wage rate, pay interval and payment method;
• Sunday, public-holiday and overtime treatment;
• annual, sick, family-responsibility and other applicable leave;
• live-in accommodation and lawful deductions, if relevant;
• notice and termination terms; and
• the status-document expiry and review process without making unlawful employment a guaranteed future outcome.

Do not label an employee an independent contractor merely to avoid employment duties. Do not use a fixed term solely because the worker is a foreign national. The written terms must match the real arrangement and may not reduce statutory rights.

Pay at least the 2026 minimum wage

From 1 March 2026, the national minimum wage is R30.23 for each ordinary hour worked. The 2026 Government Gazette expressly applies that rate to domestic workers. The national minimum wage glossary explains the statutory floor.

Agree on a wage at or above the current minimum and record:

• ordinary hours worked;
• overtime, Sunday and public-holiday hours;
• leave taken and paid;
• the gross wage;
• each lawful deduction and its basis; and
• the amount and date actually paid.

Accommodation, meals, clothing, gifts or tips do not replace the minimum wage. Do not make deductions for breakages, loans, accommodation, uniforms or other items merely because the worker signed a broad clause; confirm that each deduction is permitted and correctly limited.

Give an itemised pay slip where required and preserve the supporting time and payment records. If hours or duties vary, update the record rather than relying on memory at month-end.

Register and contribute to UIF where required

Domestic employers and their workers are included in the UIF system. The Department of Employment and Labour states that a person employed for 24 hours or more in a month must generally be registered, declared and contributed for, subject to the statutory exclusions.

Where UIF applies:

• register the household employer and worker;
• declare the worker accurately each month;
• deduct no more than the worker's lawful 1% contribution;
• add the employer's 1% contribution; and
• pay the total contribution through the approved channel by the required date.

The official guide lists a specific exclusion for some foreign workers on contracts who will be repatriated at the end of the contract. Do not treat that wording as a blanket exclusion for every foreign national. Check the actual status, contract and UIF legislation before deciding not to register or contribute.

The UIF glossary gives an overview, while the Department and uFiling remain the authoritative operational sources.

Register the household with the Compensation Fund

Domestic employees are covered for occupational injuries and diseases. The Compensation Fund's 2021 official notice states that all employers of domestic employees must register with the Fund and submit the required returns. The notice identifies the domestic-employer registration form and supporting identity, address, employee and employment-contract records.

The household employer should:

• register with the Compensation Fund;
• keep the registration and assessment details current;
• submit returns of earnings when required;
• pay assessments by the applicable deadline;
• maintain safe working conditions; and
• report an occupational injury or disease through the prescribed route.

UIF and Compensation Fund registration are separate duties. Completing one does not complete the other.

Keep the Immigration Act employment records

Section 38(4) of the Immigration Act requires an employer of a foreigner to keep the prescribed employment records for two years after the employment ends. It also requires reporting to the Director-General of the termination and any breach by the foreigner of the person's status.

Keep a secure compliance file containing:

• the copy of the status document inspected and its employment conditions;
• the inspection and any verification record;
• the written employment particulars and amendments;
• Home Affairs correspondence and prescribed forms where applicable;
• time, leave, pay-slip and payment records;
• UIF and Compensation Fund registrations, declarations and payments;
• expiry reminders and renewal evidence supplied by the worker; and
• termination and required status-reporting records.

The file should show what was checked and when. It should not contain an original passport or unrelated personal documents collected “just in case”.

Immigration status does not erase labour protection

In Discovery Health Limited v CCMA, the Labour Court held that the foreign worker in that case remained an employee for Labour Relations Act purposes and that the CCMA had jurisdiction, despite the work-permit problem. The judgment makes an important distinction: an employer cannot assume that an immigration breach removes the worker from labour-law protection.

That does not authorise unlawful employment or permit a worker to ignore status conditions. It means the employer must address immigration compliance and labour fairness together. If employment may have to end because valid authority is absent or expiring, obtain advice on the facts and follow a substantively and procedurally fair process. Do not automatically dismiss the person, force a resignation or withhold wages already earned.

The unfair-dismissal glossary and CCMA glossary explain the labour-dispute routes. The separate expiring-papers article owns the detailed dismissal scenario; this page owns compliant hiring and household-employer administration.

Proposed foreign-worker quotas are not current law

The Employment Services Amendment Bill B16–2026 proposes a new framework for labour migration, including regulation-making powers that could support sectoral limits or quotas and stronger employer duties. Parliament records that the Bill was introduced on 29 May 2026 and remains at the introduction and Portfolio Committee stage as at 21 July 2026.

The Bill is not an Act and does not itself create a current blanket quota for foreign-national domestic workers. Household employers must comply with the law in force now and monitor the Bill through Parliament rather than applying proposed rules prematurely.

Household-employer checklist

Before making an offer

• Define the real duties, hours, workplace and pay
• Inspect the original current status document
• Confirm that employment by this household in this capacity is authorised
• Identify any employer-specific, occupation-specific or expiry condition
• Resolve unclear status through a qualified adviser
• Confirm the wage meets the current statutory minimum

Before work starts

• Give accurate written employment particulars
• Record the document inspection and store a secure copy
• Complete any status-specific prescribed step, including the asylum-seeker employment letter where applicable
• Register for UIF where the coverage rules apply
• Register the domestic employer with the Compensation Fund
• Set up time, leave, pay-slip and payment records

During employment

• Pay correctly and on time
• Keep lawful records and make required contributions
• Review document expiry dates before they arrive
• Update duties or hours in writing
• Leave original documents in the worker's possession and protect private records
• Address injuries, complaints and discipline through the correct legal process

When employment ends

• Follow a fair reason and fair procedure
• Pay all amounts lawfully due and issue required service records
• Make the UIF and Compensation Fund updates that apply
• Complete the Immigration Act termination reporting required for a foreign worker; and
• retain the prescribed immigration records securely for two years.

The lawyer directory is the approved route for advice where status, dismissal, deductions, injury reporting or competing legal duties are disputed.

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