Volksrust Recorder - Column/Rubrieke 10 Recorder 4 December 2015

Employer of domestic help?8% increase to strike SouthAfrica as of 1 December 2015By Madelein Taljaard (van der Watt),Development Manager at Sage HR &Payroll – Pastel DivisionIn South Africa, 6% of domestic employeesmake up a large amount of the employeeworkforce, which is under regulation by theMinistry of Labour. The use of domesticemployees for households in South Africais an imperative to some. These employeesnot only clean the house and do the ironing,they often cook, look after the children andwalk the dog. It remains mostly a femaledomain and a few formal skills are needed toget hired.As such, from 1 December 2015, the minimumwage for domestic employees will increaseby 8% which results in R2, 230.70 a month.In rural areas, the rate is with R1, 993.82slightly lower.As pivotal as it is to many people, thisservice is still shown little value when itcomes to wages. Domestic employees oftenneed to survive low wages that are notenough to cover their basic needs. Excusesby employers for this range fromaccusations of not properly doing the job,theft and even arguments that food and aroom is provided for.A simple but powerful tool to calculate thedomestic employees’ wages is the LivingWage Calculator by Code for South Africa,

an NGO based in Cape Town. This allowsfor you to calculate whether you are payingyour domestic employee enough each monthto cover their basic needs.Based on this, minimum wages pay for a mere88% of 1 person’s household living costs.Three quarters of all domestic employees arethe sole income providers in theirhouseholds, often looking after 3 or morefamily members. If so, minimum wage onlycovers 44% or even less of their needs. Thisis not enough to escape poverty.Working full time, they are entitled to 3weeks of paid leave as well as a reasonablenumber of days of sick leave per year. Workon Sundays or a public holiday needs to becompensated at a higher rate.It takes only a few steps to be a responsibleemployer of a domestic employee. As in anyother job:* Interview the candidate.* Have an employment contract as stated inthe Basic Conditions of Employment Act.* Be very clear about the job descriptionand make sure all duties and timeframes areunderstood by the domestic employee.* All tools to do the job need to be provided.* If disagreements occur, raise and solvethem immediately.~Sage HR & Payroll~

ChangeYourStory

With Jacques de Villiers

Volksrust Seme Business Column2015/2016 Domestic worker wages

FNB ATMavailablein store

Access

Point

Miltec

Products

Wakkerstroom

Phew. We’re coming into the home stretch… December. For many of us it will be a timeto kick back and relax. We’re going to eat alot more, read more, sleep more and chill outmore.December might also be a time for reflectionon the year that was. What worked? Whatdidn’t? And, it might also be a time forlooking into the future. What are the plansfor next year? What goals need to beachieved?For me the challenge with future-thinking isthat we always leave it for tomorrow(obviously). Have you ever caught yourselfsaying things like, “I’ll start on Monday” or“I’ll start in the new year”?It’s almost like we’re building up a head ofsteam to get started. Here’s a question?What’s wrong with deciding to start rightnow … this instant? Why do we have towait until the new year to start somethingamazing or even mundane?What gets me through this humanendeavour is that I see each day as a totallynew life for me. So, even if I messed upyesterday, today I can start over and makechoices that better serve me. And, if I messup again today, I can start over tomorrow.

This way my whole life is in cycles of 24hours and I can consciously choose myoutcomes every day.For me there’s no point in starting somethingin the new year that I can start today. Isuppose what I’m saying is that I treat everyday like a new year. Don’t put off untiltomorrow what you can do today.

Don't WaitFor Tomorrow

ALL

ADVERTISERS TAKE NOTE:

DUE TO PRINTING CONSTRAINTS

DEADLINES ARE STRICTLY

TUESDAYS 15:00

For further information:Jacques de Villiersjacques@jacquesdevilliers.com082 906 3693