Home-Based Care Salary per Month in South Africa

A home-based caregiver is responsible for providing a wide array of services to their clients. With the right training and attractive salary packages, these private caregivers can earn notably in a month. As someone with no formal education but caregiving or nursing training, you can excel in the field.

Occupation:	Private caregiver, Home health aide
Monthly Salary Range:	R 11516 – R 40025
Average Monthly Salary:	R 25770.5
Description:	Home-based caregivers provide services (cleaning, security, health, etc.) for people to live safely in their homes.
Minimum Qualification:	Home-based care training (a certificate that indicates your training from an institute registered with the South African Qualification Authority).

Are you interested in entering the market of caregivers? Want to know more about their market dynamics? Here is a complete guide on the home-based care salary and factors that may influence it.

Home-Based Care Salary per Month Overview

To be qualified as a home-based caregiver in South Africa, you must have a training certificate to suggest that you have received the entire skillset from a SAQA-registered institution. An average home-based caregiver earns anywhere around R25,122 per month.

The median salary for house help in the country is around R325,900 per year. Additionally, entry-level employees usually have a starting salary of R11,516, whereas this amount is R40,025 for experts. The exact amount depends on your training, skillset, and gender.

Extras

Though many homeowners reward their home-based caregivers informally, home-based caregiving is considered a low-bonus job. According to stats, around 33% of the staff received at least one bonus in one year, whereas the other 67% reported that they had not received any bonuses. The bonus amount typically ranges between 1 and 4% of their annual salaries.

Like other professions, there are different classifications of bonuses for home-based caregivers. For instance, there are individual performance and goal-based bonuses given by the homeowners along with their yearly salary. In comparison, the company incentives and holiday bonuses are usually given by the agency they are recruited through.

Salary Structure

The home-based caregiving profession may not have a hierarchical structure, but it works on the seniority level. The rule of thumb to excel in this industry is to gain experience and grow gradually. That said, several factors play their part in deciding your monthly and yearly salary as a home-based caregiver in South Africa.

It can be your training, level of experience, gender, and the place you are working in. Want to know more about them? Let us discuss each of them in detail.

Level of Experience

The first thing that is counted once you apply for a home-based caregiver job in South Africa is your expertise in the field. So, the real question is, how many years has it been you doing the job? Here is a breakdown of the home-based caregiver salary in South Africa based on varying levels of experience.

Level of Experience	Yearly Salary
Less than 2 years of experience	R159,100
2 to 5 years	R209,500
5 to 10 years	R311,700
10 to 15 years	R381,800
15 to 20 years	R413,900
Over 20 years of experience	R448,500

• With two years of experience, you are expected to earn around R13,258 (per month) and R159,100 (per year).
• When you gain around five years of experience as a home-based caregiver, you get a 34% increase in your annual salary.
• With around ten years of experience, there is a significant 48% increase in your annual salary.
• The amount increases by around 22% with fifteen years of experience.
• Employees with twenty years of experience as a home-based caregiver get a 9% notable increase in their yearly salaries.
• Finally, experts with over twenty years of experience get an 8% increase from the previous class.

Gender

Though there should not be a difference between the salary of men and women in any department, there lies one, sadly. In the healthcare and home-based care industry, the salary is usually in favor of females because of the high saturation. On average, there is an 11% salary difference between male home health aides and their female counterparts; here is how.

Gender	Average Salary
Male Home-based caregiver	R283,700 (yearly)
Female Home-based caregiver	R317,700 (yearly)

Government Vs. Private Sector

Like any other profession, this field is also divided into the public and private sectors. According to statistics, employees hired through a government-run agency earn around 7% more than their counterparts in a private agency. Here is an average salary difference between the two sectors.

Government Vs. Private Sector	Average Salary
Public Sector	R386,400
Private Sector	R361,500

City of Allocation

Your city of allocation also matters a lot in deciding your salary as a home-based caregiver in South Africa. Typically, cities with higher demand have competitive salaries. Here is a breakdown of the private caregiver’s average salary based on their city of allocation.

City of Allocation	Monthly Salary
Bloemfontein	R22,408
Cape Town	R25,741
Johannesburg	R25,108
Durban	R26,475
Port Elizabeth	R22,608
Pretoria	R24,333

Responsibilities of a Home-Based Caregiver

Typically, a home-based caregiver is someone who provides support and services to the family members so they can live a peaceful and happy life. Their services vary depending on the package and requirements of the house owner. Here are a few professional responsibilities you have to fulfill as a home-based caregiver.

• Food Preparation: Preparing meals, shopping for groceries, adjusting recipes to their health, etc.
• Basic Health Care: Monitoring patients’ medication and prescriptions, reminding them of appointments, and making sure they take regular medicines.
• Assisting with Personal Care: Bathing, dressing, exercise, grooming, and toileting.
• Mobility Assistance: Helping disabled people get in and out of wheelchairs, showers, vehicles, etc.
• Transportation: driving them, running errands, and helping the disabled people access their wheelchairs.
• Elderly Care: Helping elderly people carry out their lives, facilitating someone with diseases (Alzheimer’s, dementia, and schizophrenia, etc), regularly keeping in check with them, etc.
• Emotional Support: Helping them achieve mental stability through meditation and exercises and supporting them in emotional matters.
• Home Organization: Organizing the things at home, packing, cleaning, general house care, etc.
• Health Monitoring: Developing a care plan that is suitable for a person’s health and reporting their health to the doctor regularly.

FAQs

What is the average salary of a home-based caregiver in South Africa?

An average home-based caregiver earns around R25,122 per month in South Africa.

How much does an expert earn in South Africa as a private caregiver?

An expert home-based caregiver with considerable experience can earn up to R40,025 per month.

What is the starting salary of a home-based caregiver in South Africa?

An average entry-level home-based caregiver earns anywhere around R11,516 per month.

Do you need a degree to become a home-based caregiver in SA?

No, you do not need a degree for this job. That said, an employee must possess a SAQA-certified license, indicating that they have received formal caregiving training.

What is the median salary of a home-based caregiver in SA?

The median salary for home-based caregivers in South Africa is R325,900 per year.

What do home-based caregivers do?

Home-based caregivers provide a wide array of services and support to people so they can live a peaceful and secure life. Their responsibilities differ depending on the homeowner’s requirements and the salary package.

Do women or men caregivers earn more?

Though it is unjust, caregiving, like other industries, has a salary differential based on gender. According to statistics, female caregivers earn 11% more than their male counterparts.

The home-based caregiving industry is great for someone who has nursing or related training, not to mention the capacity to handle stressful work conditions. It is financially pretty beneficial and offers a great scope to grow. Finally, if you are someone planning to enter this field, I hope this guide has been helpful.