Can employers deduct money from your pay for damages or loss? We recently received this question on Facebook, and since the legislation for domestic workers is covered under a specific sectoral determination, we decided to discuss the issue in detail. Scorpion Legal Protection looks at the rules for domestic workers in South Africa.

The legislation that applies to domestic workers and deductions for damages or loss is Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector. You can view the full legal document here.

Who qualifies as a domestic worker?

First, it’s important to understand who qualifies as a domestic worker under this legislation. The determination covers:

• All domestic workers in South Africa
• People employed by employment services
• Independent contractors
• A person doing gardening in a private home
• People who look after children, the aged, the sick, the frail or the disabled in a private household
• A person employed to drive the car taking the children of the household to school.

Deductions your employer can make

Deductions your employer MAY make:

• Medical insurance (only if you have medical aid, it is not compulsory)
• Savings (again, not compulsory, only if you want your employer to put aside some of your pay for savings and it must be by agreement)
• Pension fund (if you have a private pension fund, by agreement)
• Trade union subscription
• An order of account payment to a financial institution (for example, a court order to repay the bank for a loan)
• Rentals (for accommodation, we'll discuss the conditions below)
• To repay a loan or advance from your employer (cannot be not more than 10% of your total wages)

On deductions for accommodation, the amount your employer can deduct may not be more than 10% of your total wages – so if you get R4 000 per month, your employer cannot take more than R400 for rent. The employer can also only deduct rent money if the room is weatherproof and in good condition, has at least one window and door that can be locked, and is fitted with a toilet, a bath/shower or has access to another bathroom. If these conditions are not met, the employer may not charge you for accommodation.

Deductions your employer cannot make

Deductions your employer MAY NOT make:

• Any amount greater than the actual pay you receive
• Breakages (crockery, electrical appliances)
• Damages (ironing)
• Meals provided during working time
• Clothing
• Work equipment

As per Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector, your employer is not allowed to deduct money from your wages for damages or loss that occurred in the course of your work.

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If you have a query, follow Scorpion Legal Protection on Facebook and ask your question during our next Live Q&A (every first Thursday of the month).

* This is only basic advice and cannot be relied on solely. The information is correct at the time of being sent to publishing.