Three calculations every South African household employer needs.
Notice, final pay and the minimum-wage check, worked out with the rules that apply from 1 March 2026. Keep the answers — or save them in a folder that can prove them later.
Notice and final pay
How much notice you owe, and what the last payment has to contain.
That is 28 calendar days. If you tell them today, their last day of employment is 28 days from now — and they must be paid for working or not working through it.
Severance is only payable when the employment ends for operational reasons — the family is moving, the work has genuinely gone. It is not payable when they resign or is dismissed after a fair hearing.
Are you paying the legal minimum?
From 1 March 2026 the national minimum wage is R 30.23 an hour — the same rate for every worker in South Africa, domestic workers included. Enter what you pay and the hours they actually work.
The minimum is per ordinary hour. Overtime is 1.5× that rate, a Sunday is double unless they normally work Sundays, and a public holiday they work is paid at double. Deductions for housing or food are only allowed within the limits the sectoral determination sets.