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Sick Leave for Domestic Workers: The 36-Month Cycle Explained

Domestic workers earn paid sick leave on a three-year cycle, with a separate accrual rule for the first six months of a new job. Employers may insist on a medical certificate in defined situations — but not for every single sick day. Here is how the entitlement works and how to manage it fairly.

Last reviewed June 2026 · wage figures from 1 March 2026

The entitlement: six weeks' worth of days per 36 months

Over every 36-month sick leave cycle, a domestic worker is entitled to paid sick leave equal to the number of days she would normally work in six weeks. The formula scales with her working pattern: a five-day-a-week worker gets 5 × 6 = 30 paid sick days per three-year cycle; a six-day worker gets 36; a two-day-a-week worker gets 12.

This is a per-cycle pool, not an annual one. She could use many of those days in one bad year — if the illness is genuine and certified where required, you must pay them as long as the cycle's balance lasts. When the 36 months are up, a fresh cycle and a fresh pool begin.

The first six months: 1 day per 26 worked

A new employee does not start with the full pool. During the first six months of employment, sick leave accrues at one paid day for every 26 days worked. A full-time five-day worker therefore builds up roughly five paid sick days over her first half-year.

After six months the full six-week entitlement applies for the rest of the 36-month cycle (less any days already taken). This phase-in protects employers from hiring someone who immediately disappears on extended paid sick leave.

When you can insist on a medical certificate

You are not required to pay for sick leave if the worker was absent for more than two consecutive days, or on more than two occasions within an eight-week period, and she fails to produce a medical certificate on your request stating she was unable to work for the duration of the absence.

Flip that around for the common case: a single sick day, or two days here and there (up to twice in eight weeks), must be paid without a certificate. The certificate may come from a medical practitioner or another professional registered with a professional council who is qualified to diagnose and treat patients — a clinic sister's certificate is acceptable, which matters because many workers use public clinics rather than private GPs.

Pay during sick leave

A paid sick day is paid at the wage the worker would normally have received for that day — full pay, not a reduced rate. From 1 March 2026 the legal wage floor is R30.23 per hour, so a certified sick day for a full-time minimum-wage worker costs at least R241.84.

Once the cycle's pool is exhausted, further sick days are unpaid (though you may choose to pay, or she may ask to use annual leave — note that an employer cannot force annual leave to run concurrently with sick leave). There is no legal requirement to pay out unused sick days in cash, during employment or on termination: sick leave is insurance, not a savings account.

Long illness and injuries on duty

If illness extends well beyond the sick leave pool, get advice before acting: dismissal for incapacity is possible in law but only with a fair process — the DoL guidance for the sector notes that a worker unable to return due to disability may only be dismissed after a proper incapacity procedure, and an unfair dismissal can end up at the CCMA.

An injury or illness caused by the work itself is a different track entirely. Since the Mahlangu Constitutional Court ruling (19 November 2020), domestic workers are covered by COIDA, so a worker hurt on duty claims from the Compensation Fund rather than burning sick leave. Make sure you are registered — see the overview on our leave hub.

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