Abstract
Domestic workers in South Africa are an important yet vulnerable group performing an important but undervalued job.1 They are prone to labour abuse as they are isolated at their place of work, which also makes unions and collective bargaining less effective.2 The economic realities and unemployment in South Africa form the context in which labour law must operate and helps us to understand the situation of domestic workers.3 South African labour law, it will be argued, does little to protect domestic workers and does not have specific legislation designed to protect domestic workers.4 General labour legislation such as the Labour Relations Act (LRA) and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) both offer protections to employees who reach the thresholds, such as a minimum amount of work hours per month and definition of “employee”, set out in the acts; however, employers can avoid obligations by keeping workers out of the thresholds...
LL.M. (Labour Law)