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Notice Periods for Domestic Workers: The Rules Both Ways

Whether you are ending a domestic worker's employment or your worker has resigned, the notice rules in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and Sectoral Determination 7 set the minimums for both sides. Domestic workers have a special rule that catches many employers out: the jump to four weeks' notice comes after only six months, not a year. Here is how it all works.

Last reviewed June 2026 · wage figures from 1 March 2026

The legal minimum notice periods

Under section 37 of the BCEA, a domestic worker who has been employed for six months or less is entitled to at least one week's notice. Once a domestic worker (or farm worker) has been employed for more than six months, the minimum jumps straight to four weeks. The middle tier that applies to most other employees, two weeks for service between six months and a year, does not apply to domestic workers.

These are minimums in both directions: they bind you when you terminate, and they bind the worker when they resign. Your written contract may set longer periods by agreement, but never shorter than the Act, and you cannot require the worker to give more notice than you must give.

Notice must be in writing

Notice of termination must be given in writing, with one practical exception: an employee who cannot read may give notice verbally. If your worker cannot read, do the reverse courtesy when you give notice: hand over the letter, explain its contents in a language the worker understands, and have a witness present. Record the date clearly, because the notice period runs from when notice is given, and disputes about dates are common.

Remember that notice only covers the how of ending employment, not the why. If you are dismissing for misconduct or retrenching, you must still follow the fair procedure for that type of dismissal first; see retrenching a domestic worker for the operational-reasons route.

Paying notice instead of working it

Section 38 of the BCEA lets you pay the worker the remuneration they would have earned over the notice period instead of having them work it. Households often prefer this when the relationship has soured or when the house is being packed up anyway. For a domestic worker with more than six months' service, that means four weeks' remuneration, paid with the rest of the final payment. Remuneration includes the value of regular benefits like meals or accommodation, not just the cash wage.

If a worker who lives on your property is paid out instead of working notice, agree a reasonable move-out date in writing rather than expecting same-day departure.

Notice and leave do not mix

Section 37(5) of the BCEA has two rules employers regularly trip over. First, you may not give notice of termination while the worker is on leave, so do not phone your worker on her December break or during maternity leave to give notice. Second, notice may not run concurrently with leave, with sick leave as the only exception. You cannot tell a worker to take her accrued annual leave during the notice period to avoid paying it out; the leave must be paid out in money on termination under section 40.

The sick leave exception works the other way: if the worker falls ill during the notice period and has sick leave available, she takes paid sick leave and the notice period keeps running.

When the worker resigns

The same minimums apply: one week in the first six months, four weeks after that. A resignation does not need your acceptance to be valid, and you cannot refuse it. If the worker leaves immediately without working notice, take advice before deducting anything from the final payment, because accrued annual leave must still be paid out under section 40 regardless of how the employment ended, and unlawful deductions create their own dispute. Severance pay is never owed on resignation.

Whatever the circumstances, give a certificate of service, pay all wages and leave owing, and declare the termination to the UIF.

When the worker simply stops coming to work

Abandonment (desertion) is not an automatic dismissal, and silence is not a resignation. The employer must show the worker clearly intended not to return, and a mere failure to answer calls is not enough on its own. Practical steps: phone and message on day one or two; send a written message and, if possible, a letter to the last known address asking the worker to return or explain by a stated date; warn that a disciplinary hearing will be held on a specific date if there is no response; then hold the hearing even if the worker does not attend, record what you did to make contact, and only then decide on dismissal.

Keep every WhatsApp, call log and letter. If the worker later refers an unfair dismissal claim to the CCMA, that paper trail is what shows you acted fairly. Workers sometimes disappear because of genuine crises, so a measured response also protects a relationship that may be salvageable.