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Domestic Worker Leave: What SA Household Employers Must Grant
If you employ a housekeeper, nanny or gardener, the law gives them four distinct types of paid leave: annual leave, sick leave, family responsibility leave and maternity leave. The rules come from Sectoral Determination 7 (the law written specifically for the domestic worker sector) read with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. This page summarises all four so you can see your obligations at a glance, and gives you a simple leave-request form to print and keep on file.
Last reviewed June 2026 · wage figures from 1 March 2026
DOMESTIC WORKER LEAVE REQUEST AND APPROVAL FORM
(Complete one form per leave request. Both parties sign. Employer keeps the original; employee keeps a copy.)
1. DETAILS
1.1 Employee name: [EMPLOYEE FULL NAME]
1.2 Employer name: [EMPLOYER FULL NAME]
1.3 Job title: [E.G. HOUSEKEEPER / NANNY / GARDENER]
1.4 Normal working days per week: [NUMBER]
2. TYPE OF LEAVE REQUESTED (tick one)
[ ] Annual leave
[ ] Sick leave (medical certificate attached: [ ] Yes [ ] No — required if absent more than 2 consecutive days, or more than twice in an 8-week period)
[ ] Family responsibility leave (complete section 4)
[ ] Maternity leave (expected date of birth: [DATE])
[ ] Unpaid leave (by agreement)
3. DATES
3.1 First day of leave: [DATE]
3.2 Last day of leave: [DATE]
3.3 Date back at work: [DATE]
3.4 Number of working days requested: [NUMBER]
4. FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY LEAVE EVENT (tick one)
[ ] Birth of my child
[ ] My child is sick
[ ] Death of my: [ ] spouse or life partner [ ] parent [ ] adoptive parent [ ] grandparent [ ] child [ ] adopted child [ ] grandchild [ ] brother or sister
Reasonable proof attached (if requested by employer): [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] Not applicable
5. EMPLOYEE DECLARATION
I request the leave set out above and confirm the details are true.
Employee signature: ______________________ Date: [DATE]
6. EMPLOYER DECISION
[ ] Approved — paid leave
[ ] Approved — unpaid leave (agreed with the employee)
[ ] Not approved. Reason: [REASON]
6.1 Days deducted from: [ ] Annual leave balance [ ] Sick leave balance [ ] Family responsibility leave balance [ ] Not applicable (maternity/unpaid)
6.2 Balance before this request: [NUMBER] days
6.3 Balance after this request: [NUMBER] days
Employer signature: ______________________ Date: [DATE]
7. NOTES FOR BOTH PARTIES
7.1 Annual leave: minimum 3 weeks per 12-month cycle (or 1 day per 17 days worked by agreement), paid at the normal wage.
7.2 Sick leave: 1 day per 26 days worked in the first 6 months of service; thereafter the number of days normally worked in 6 weeks, per 36-month cycle.
7.3 Family responsibility leave: maximum 5 paid days per 12-month leave cycle; unused days lapse at the end of the cycle.
7.4 Maternity leave: 4 consecutive months; unpaid unless otherwise agreed; the employee may claim UIF maternity benefits.
Where the rules come from
Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector (SD7) sets the minimum conditions of employment for domestic workers in private households — including every leave entitlement on this page. Where SD7 is silent, the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) fills the gap. Anything in your employment contract that is less favourable than these minimums is invalid, so you cannot contract out of them — but you can always agree to give more.
Leave is paid at the worker's normal wage, and that wage itself has a legal floor: the national minimum wage is R30.23 per hour from 1 March 2026. A full eight-hour day therefore costs at least R241.84, and that is also the minimum value of one day of paid leave for a full-time worker on the minimum wage.
The four leave types at a glance
The table below summarises the minimums. Each leave type has its own detailed page: annual leave, sick leave, family responsibility leave and maternity leave.
| Leave type | Minimum entitlement | Who qualifies | Paid by you? | Cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual leave | 3 weeks (21 consecutive days), or by agreement 1 day per 17 days worked | Every domestic worker | Yes — normal wage | Every 12 months |
| Sick leave | The days normally worked in 6 weeks (30 days for a 5-day week); first 6 months: 1 day per 26 days worked | Every domestic worker | Yes — normal wage (medical certificate rules apply) | 36 months |
| Family responsibility leave | 5 days for defined family events | Employed more than 4 months AND at least 4 days a week | Yes — normal wage | 12 months; unused days lapse |
| Maternity leave | 4 consecutive months | Any pregnant domestic worker | No, unless you agree to pay — UIF pays a benefit instead | Per pregnancy |
Part-time and 'char' workers qualify too
Leave rights are not reserved for live-in or full-time workers. Someone who works for you two days a week still earns annual leave (pro-rated — the 1-day-per-17-days-worked formula handles this neatly) and sick leave scaled to her working pattern. The only entitlement with a built-in threshold is family responsibility leave, which requires more than four months' service and at least four days' work per week for you.
Remember that a worker with several employers earns leave separately from each one. You are only responsible for leave on the days she works for you.
Leave is not your only obligation
Two registrations sit alongside leave. First, UIF: any domestic worker who works for you more than 24 hours a month must be registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund, with a 2% monthly contribution (1% deducted from her wage, 1% paid by you). UIF matters for leave because it pays the maternity benefit during otherwise-unpaid maternity leave.
Second, COIDA: since the Constitutional Court's Mahlangu judgment of 19 November 2020, domestic workers are covered by the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, with retrospective effect. Household employers must register with the Compensation Fund so a worker injured on duty can claim compensation — a long absence after a work injury is a COIDA matter, not ordinary sick leave.
Keep simple leave records
Most domestic-employment disputes at the CCMA involve leave nobody wrote down. Keep a one-page record per worker: leave days earned, taken and remaining for each type, with dates. Use the printable leave request and approval form below every time leave is taken — it takes two minutes, both of you sign it, and it protects both sides.
Two timing rules worth knowing now: annual leave must be granted no later than six months after the end of the 12-month cycle in which it was earned, and you may not run annual leave concurrently with sick leave or with a notice period on termination.
Protect yourself with legal cover →
Frequently asked questions
Does a domestic worker who comes once a week get leave?
Yes. All leave entitlements apply pro rata to her working pattern — for annual leave the easiest method is 1 day of paid leave per 17 days worked. The only exception is family responsibility leave, which requires at least 4 working days a week for the same employer.
Can I pay my worker extra instead of giving leave?
No. Paying cash instead of granting annual leave is prohibited while employment continues — leave must actually be taken. The only time untaken annual leave is paid out in money is when employment ends.
Do public holidays count as leave days?
No. Public holidays are separate paid days off under the Public Holidays Act. If a public holiday falls inside a period of annual leave on a day the worker would normally have worked, she gets an extra paid leave day.
What records must I keep?
Keep a written record of leave earned and taken for each leave type, signed leave forms, payslips and the employment contract. If a dispute reaches the CCMA, the employer who kept records is in a far stronger position.
Is leave paid at the minimum wage or at her actual wage?
At her actual normal wage for the days she would have worked. The national minimum wage of R30.23 per hour (from 1 March 2026) is only the floor — if you pay more than the minimum, leave is paid at that higher rate.