How much leave does a part-time or once-a-week domestic worker get?
Short answer
A part-time domestic worker still earns paid leave — pro-rata to the days they work. Annual leave is 3 weeks a year, which by the BCEA's alternative accrual works out at 1 day of leave for every 17 days worked, so a worker doing 1 day a week earns about 3 paid leave days a year. Sick leave over each 36-month cycle equals the days they normally work in 6 weeks (about 6 days for a 1-day-a-week worker). Family-responsibility leave (3 days a year) only applies to a worker employed more than 4 months who works at least 4 days a week — so a once-a-week worker does not qualify for it.
Step by step
1Confirm the worker does more than 24 hours a month for you (the leave threshold).
2Count the days they actually work in a year.
3Annual leave: divide days worked by 17 — that's their paid annual-leave days (e.g. 52 ÷ 17 ≈ 3).
4Sick leave: multiply their normal weekly days by 6 for the 36-month cycle (e.g. 1 × 6 = 6 days).
5Family-responsibility leave: only count it if they've been employed >4 months AND work ≥4 days a week.
6Record each leave day taken and pay it at a normal day's wage.
Leave is pro-rata, not zero
A common mistake is to assume a once-a-week or part-time worker gets no leave. They do — the BCEA's leave provisions apply to any domestic worker who works more than 24 hours a month for you. The entitlement simply scales to the days actually worked. (The 24-hour rule is the threshold for the leave provisions and UIF/COIDA registration; minimum wage and the right to a contract and payslip apply no matter how few the hours.)
Annual leave — the 1-day-per-17-worked method
Full-time annual leave is 3 weeks (21 consecutive days) a year. For irregular or part-time workers the BCEA allows an equivalent accrual by agreement: 1 day of paid leave for every 17 days actually worked. Both methods give the same 3-weeks-a-year result for a 5- or 6-day worker, but the per-17 method is the clean way to handle someone who works only some days.
Worked example: 1 day a week
A worker who comes one day a week works about 52 days a year. At 1 leave day per 17 days worked, that is roughly 3 paid leave days a year (52 ÷ 17 ≈ 3.06). Each of those leave days is paid at what they'd earn for a normal working day. So a once-a-week worker accrues around 3 paid days off a year — small, but real, and it must be granted and recorded.
Sick and family-responsibility leave for part-timers
Sick leave over each 36-month cycle equals the number of days the worker normally works in 6 weeks. For a 1-day-a-week worker that is about 6 days of paid sick leave over three years (1 day × 6 weeks). Family-responsibility leave is different: it is 3 days a year but only for a worker employed longer than 4 months who works at least 4 days a week — so most once-a-week or twice-a-week workers do not qualify for it.
Frequently asked questions
Does a once-a-week domestic worker get paid leave?
Yes, pro-rata. Using the BCEA's 1-day-per-17-days-worked accrual, a 1-day-a-week worker earns about 3 paid annual-leave days a year, plus around 6 days of sick leave over each 36-month cycle.
How is part-time annual leave calculated?
By the alternative accrual method: 1 day of paid annual leave for every 17 days actually worked. This matches the full 3-weeks-a-year entitlement for a regular worker and scales fairly for part-timers.
Does a part-time worker get family-responsibility leave?
Only if they've been employed more than 4 months AND work at least 4 days a week. A worker doing one or two days a week does not qualify for family-responsibility leave.
How much sick leave does a 1-day-a-week worker get?
Over each 36-month cycle, the days they normally work in 6 weeks — so about 6 paid sick days across three years for a 1-day-a-week worker.
Dignita is a compliance tool, not legal advice. Figures are based on current South African legislation; confirm with a labour-law professional for your situation.