The Dignity in Every Home campaign is a national initiative focused on strengthening awareness of domestic workers’ rights and supporting employers to create trusting, fair, safe, dignified and lawful home-work environments.
The campaign, which aims to shift everyday practices by providing practical, legal and easy-to-follow guidelines for employers of domestic workers, is being run by Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI), the United Domestic Workers of South Africa (UDWOSA) and the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU).
The campaign includes three resources entitled 'Are You a Fair Employer?', 'Code of Good Conduct for Accommodating Live-In Domestic Workers' and 'Employing a Domestic Worker – A Legal and Practical Guide', which provide clear guidance for employers and domestic workers. They focus on a range of issues including dignified accommodation, fair pay, working hours, leave, dismissal procedures and mandatory registration for the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and Compensation Fund for Occupational Injuries and Diseases (COIDA).
These resources assist employers of domestic workers to establish clear agreements and respectful working relationships, creating security for workers and peace of mind for employers, while helping households function with dignity and care.
All three guidelines are available at https://www.dignityineveryhome.org.za/
Some employers assume that employing a domestic worker is an informal arrangement — or even a favour to the worker — while depending on these women and men to do the most intimate and precious work of caring for children, older people and homes.
“As employers, we must understand the responsibility we take on when inviting someone to work in our homes. A cleaner or nanny must have the same labour rights we expect from our own employers,” says Amy Tekie, co-founder of Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance.
“Domestic workers in homes are often working 14-hour days, living apart from their families and earning well below the minimum wage. Workers are regularly bullied, assaulted and treated with blatant discrimination. This happens behind the closed doors of private homes. It is now time for us to talk about this as a society, to admit that these practices are unconstitutional yet widespread and to ensure that things change.”
Tekie explains that the resources shared in this campaign will help employers identify gaps in employment agreements, address mandatory government registration requirements and manage difficult situations.
“Fair and respectful working conditions create stability, protect employers, allow workers to thrive and are a fundamental building block of our nation’s social prosperity,” she concludes.
When you employ a domestic worker, your home becomes a workplace and you are legally required to know, understand and comply with labour law requirements. Fair employment is not only a legal requirement; it helps build better working relationships.
Fair Employment Checklist
The campaign’s website includes a quiz called 'Are You a Fair Employer?'. Also available as a checklist, it helps employers ensure they are doing things properly.
Questions include whether employers have registered their domestic worker for Unemployment Insurance and pay monthly contributions, whether they pay at least the national minimum wage of R30.23 for every hour worked, whether they treat workers with respect at all times and whether ordinary working hours are limited to no more than 45 hours a week.
It highlights ways employers can better support domestic workers, including conducting performance reviews and contributing towards retirement.
One way employers can further support domestic workers is by paying more than the R30.23-an-hour minimum wage. At this rate, a full-time worker earns R5 239.46 a month. From this amount, workers must pay for transport, rent for their families, electricity, food, clothing, school transport, sanitary products and airtime.
The Living Wage calculator, available at www.dignityineveryhome.org.za, can help determine whether a domestic worker's earnings are sufficient to cover living expenses.
Accommodation Standards for Live-In Domestic Workers
In addition to the checklist is the 'Code of Good Conduct for Accommodating Live-In Domestic Workers'. This code serves as a practical guide for employers who accommodate live-in domestic workers in private homes and residential associations, including body corporates, estates and homeowners associations.
Many residential associations continue to have rules that discriminate against resident domestic workers by limiting which entrances or staircases they may use, requiring them to carry identification and excluding them from common property.
Many private homes also have unconstitutional rules for domestic workers, forbidding visitors, limiting what workers may cook or eat and dictating where they may go during off-hours. Workers are often required to live in substandard and unsafe housing.
The code outlines standards for accommodation, privacy, food, family and social life, equal access and treatment, freedom of movement and religion, and freedom from harassment and abuse. It is rooted in rights enshrined in South Africa’s Constitution and aligned with international law.
By complying with the law, creating clear boundaries and establishing mutually respectful living arrangements, these standards help ensure that no one is deprived of basic constitutional rights because of their occupation.
Guidance on Employing a Domestic Worker
The third resource, 'Employing a Domestic Worker – A Legal and Practical Guide', informs employers of their rights and obligations in domestic employment relationships. It provides advice on creating a healthy working environment and supporting employers to improve their employment practices.
Developed by SERI and Izwi, the guide offers information on working hours, rest periods, wages, deductions, overtime pay, leave and night work. It also covers changes to terms of employment, disciplinary procedures, registration for UIF and COIDA, and termination of employment.
The guide includes a frequently asked questions section.
By upholding their responsibilities under labour law, employers can contribute to creating a more equal society for the one million women and men caring for homes and families.
For further information on promoting fair, lawful employment in private homes, visit: https://www.dignityineveryhome.org.za/
If you have any questions, email: info@izwi.org.za
The campaign, which aims to shift everyday practices by providing practical, legal and easy-to-follow guidelines for employers of domestic workers, is being run by Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI), the United Domestic Workers of South Africa (UDWOSA) and the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU).
About Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance
Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance is a network of domestic workers in the Johannesburg metropolis. Izwi was started by a group of domestic workers who wanted to change the way they are treated by employers, and by society in general. Izwi provides labour rights advice, representation for domestic workers, and labour mediation services, in addition to conducting related advocacy and research.
About the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI)
The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) is a non-profit human rights organisation. They work with communities, social movements, individuals and other non-profit organisations in South Africa and beyond to develop and implement strategies to challenge inequality and realise socio-economic rights. SERI provides legal advice and representation, research services and advocacy support to our clients and partners.
About the United Domestic Workers of South Africa (UDWOSA)
The United Domestic Workers of South Africa was founded by Pinky Mashiane, a domestic worker who recognised the need to combat low pay, long hours, GBV, harassment and other hazards of an unregulated work life. Their aim is to support domestic workers to get justice for inhumane treatment, to educate them in a full understanding of their rights and to advocate for labour laws that support domestic workers.
About the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU)
The South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU) was founded by Myrtle Witbooi. SADSAWU organizes, mobilizes, and educates individuals who are employed as domestic workers in South Africa, and continues to strive toward national and world-wide recognition as domestic workers who contribute toward building the global economy.