South African households that employ undocumented workers could face fines of R100,000 per worker under a proposed amendment to the country's employment law, according to businesstech.co.za. The provision forms part of the Employment Services Amendment Bill, which seeks to regulate the hiring of foreign nationals. Public comment on the draft legislation is now open, IOL reports.
The proposed penalty would apply per undocumented worker, meaning households employing more than one such worker could face fines running into multiples of that amount. The bill's scope covers domestic employment arrangements, a sector in which many South African households hire workers directly, businesstech.co.za reports.
The bill aims to bring greater regulation to the hiring of foreign nationals across the labour market. EWN reports that the legislation is intended to govern how employers take on foreign workers. Cape Town ETC and citizen.co.za both reported that the fine would apply per undocumented worker hired.
The proposal has drawn attention because it would extend enforcement into private households, not just businesses. Domestic workers are commonly employed directly by families in South Africa, and the bill would place the same compliance burden on those households as on formal employers.
With the public comment period now underway, the final shape of the bill remains to be settled. What to watch next: whether the comment process produces changes to the proposed fine amount or its application to households before the bill advances.
