Domestic work accounts for one of the largest employment sectors in South Africa, and it’s also one of the most unequal.

This is largely due to the personal nature of the work – it happens in what is considered ‘the private space’ of the employer.

The private nature of the work makes it hard to regulate, which means that domestic workers are often denied the basic rights that other workers are entitled to in more public employment, like compensation for a workplace injury or death or illness contracted in the workplace.

A new High Court decision is set to change all that, reports BusinessTech.

On Thursday (23 May), the Pretoria High Court found that the exclusion of domestic workers in the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) is unconstitutional.

The case involved the death of a domestic worker who fell into her employer’s pool and drowned. When her daughter tried to claim compensation from the Department of Labour, she was informed that while compensation and unemployment insurance benefits are ordinarily covered by COIDA, she did not qualify for either as domestic workers are not considered ’employees’ under the act.

The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) brought an application on behalf of the worker to compel the Department of Labour to amend section 1 of COIDA to include domestic workers and to put effective enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure that employers comply with COIDA and other relevant labour legislation.

“In its ruling, the Pretoria High Court declared section 1 of COIDA unconstitutional for intentionally excluding domestic workers working in the home from its definition of ’employees’,” SERI said.

SERI will also be arguing for a retrospective application of the declaration of invalidity to ensure that their client (the daughter of the late domestic worker) and others are compensated for workplace death or injury.

The High Court judgement sets a precedent for domestic workers. To their credit, the Department of Labour has also been pushing for law changes. Johan Botes, a partner at Baker Mckenzie, says that proposed amendments were published at the end of 2018.

“Domestic employees may benefit from the Compensation Fund if they are injured on duty (i.e. disablement, diseases or death) and may, in addition to compensation, receive reasonable medical aid expenses arising from such injury for a period of two years (or longer in certain situations),” he said.

“Previously, domestic employees would only be able to claim against the Unemployment Insurance Fund and perhaps a civil claim against the employer.

“For employers, the proposed amendments mean that the Compensation Commissioner steps into the shoes of the employer where a domestic employee is injured on duty”.

The next step is to get on providing domestic workers with a liveable wage.

Because domestic work is precisely that – work – and it should be treated and compensated accordingly.

[source:businesstech]