South Africa is not joking with domestic workers, especially following the eye-opening turbulence occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic. The country has moved in support of domestic workers, finally gazette-ing new rules under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (Coida) that will see domestic workers compensated for occupational injuries and diseases suffered by them in the course of their employment.
The new rules also grant domestic workers the same benefits that are payable to all other injured employees.
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Perhaps the most interesting part of the new rules is that from now on, all domestic workers in South Africa must now be registered with the South AfricanDepartment of Employment and Labour, the body in charge of industrial labour in the Southern African country.
“This is to inform the domestic employees that based on the Constitutional Court Order dated 19 November 2020, domestic employees are now covered under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA). This means that Domestic employees will now be entitled for compensation in the event they are injured or contract diseases while on duty. As per the COID Act, the employee is a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service or of apprenticeship or learnership, with an employer, whether the contract is express or implied, oral or in writing, and whether the remuneration is calculated by time or by work done, or is in cash or in kind,” a part of the new law reads.
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To Be Affected By The New Rules Are In-Home Service Startups Such As SweepSouth
The new regulations require all employers of domestic workers, whether part-time or full-time, to register themselves and their employees with the Compensation Commissioner.
The new rules also state that domestic employees must be licensed within seven days of signing an employment contract with an employer.
Under the rules, a domestic worker must also be registered by an employer as soon as possible if an employment contract already exists.
Although there is no fixed date for employers to register, they are strongly encouraged to do so as soon as possible.
The penalties for non-registration are likely to begin after the end of March 2022.
Those would be affected most are in-home service startups in the country, such as SweepSouth.
Last year, at the heart of the coronavirus pandemic, SweepSouth launched a R12m fund in support of workers under its care.
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The launch of the fund was aided by a R6m contribution from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, which invested in SweepSouth in 2019. The aim of the investment into SweepSouth was to promote better family economic stability in South Africa by backing an organisation providing broad access to work opportunities. This initial injection of funds would enable SweepStars to receive weekly financial support in the form of top-ups of between R150 and R450 during the national lockdown period.
However, the new compensation and registration regimes in favour of domestic workers introduced by government may mean many things for the home-cleaning startup, and its cohort.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer