Payslips Are Compulsory
Every time you pay your domestic worker, you are required by law to issue them with a written payslip. This applies whether you pay weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. A verbal statement of what you are paying, a bank statement alone, or an informal note does not satisfy the legal requirement. Sectoral Determination 7 also requires that employers keep payslips for three years — meaning you need to issue them and retain copies.
What Must Be on a Compliant Payslip
- Employer's name and address
- Employee's name and occupation
- Period of payment (which month or week)
- Payment date
- Ordinary hours worked
- Overtime hours worked if any
- Gross remuneration (total before deductions)
- Each deduction listed separately (UIF, accommodation, any authorised deduction)
- Net pay (amount actually paid)
What Is Not Acceptable
The following do not constitute compliant payslips: a handwritten note with just the amount paid, a bank transfer reference with no breakdown, a verbal confirmation of wages, or a receipt signed by the employee without the required details.
Why Payslips Protect the Employer
In a wage dispute — which are surprisingly common even in long-standing employment relationships — a payslip history shows exactly what the employee received each month. Without this evidence, employers face claims for unpaid wages that are very difficult to defend. The three-year retention requirement is significant: a domestic worker dismissed two years ago can still bring a wage claim.
Electronic Payslips Are Acceptable
While traditional payslips were issued as physical paper documents, South African law does not require payslips to be on paper specifically. Electronic payslips — sent via email, WhatsApp, or accessed through a digital platform — are acceptable as long as they contain all of the required information. The key requirement is that the payslip is provided to the worker in a form they can access and retain, and that a copy is retained by the employer for the required three-year period. Digital records that can be printed are perfectly sufficient.
What Payslips Reveal About Compliance
A complete payslip history for a domestic worker reveals a great deal about the employer's compliance. The payslips show whether wages were above or below the minimum wage at all relevant times, whether UIF deductions were being made each month, whether overtime was separately identified and paid at the correct rate, and whether any deductions were authorised. For Department of Labour inspectors and CCMA commissioners, a full payslip history is one of the most useful documents for assessing the history of an employment relationship.
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