Contracts of Employment of Domestic Workers: Compliance with the South African Labour Law

Abstract

An employment relationship is the legal relationship created through the conclusion of a contract of employment between an employer and employee. Thus, it is assumed that determining the validity of employment contracts of domestic workers is an important matter for explaining the employment relationship in the current study. The target population in this study comprises domestic workers in the area of Vanderbijlark in southern Gauteng. The areas covered include: South-west 1; South-west 2; South-east 3; South-west 5; and South-west 5x1. Questionnaires were administered and interviews were conducted with the domestic workers who happened to be at the particular shopping centre or bus stop, at the particular time when the researcher was present for such purposes. Accidental sampling was chosen, because of its convenience. It can be concluded that a contract of employment should play an important role in clarifying what is to be expected from each party. The greater the clarity as to what is expected from each contractual party, the less the chance there is of misunderstandings in the relationship. Thus, no matter how widely domestic workers are covered by labour laws in the new South Africa, and no matter the efficiency of South African labour legislation, domestic workers will continue to be disadvantaged and exploited by their employers if they continue to form employment relationships in the absence of valid contracts of employment. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n3p86