If you employ someone in your home in South Africa, the law treats you as an employer. That is true whether they work three days a week or full time.

Before the first shift, put these on paper:

1. A written contract. Hours, wage, leave, notice, and what the job actually is. Verbal agreements fall apart the moment something goes wrong.

2. A simple paper trail. Confirm leave, wage changes, and warnings in writing. A short letter is enough. A WhatsApp thread is not a file.

3. The basic legal picture. Sectoral Determination 7 (domestic workers) sets the floor on wages, hours, and leave. You do not need to become a labour lawyer. You do need to know that floor.

Most disputes in private homes are not about malice. They are about nobody writing it down.

Keep the file. Update it when something changes. That is the whole job.