Domestic workers can be broadly divided into two categories i.e., live-in and live-out domestic workers. Live-in domestic workers are those who reside in the house where they perform their work while live-out workers live outside their place of work. The other categories are full time, part time, child domestic workers, bonded/forced labour, and migrant workers including au pair. It is pertinent to mention that domestic labour, in Asia and Africa, exists also in the form of child labour and bonded/forced labour. Moreover, the au pair, initially a cultural exchange program for young people, is also a type of migrant domestic worker arrangement.

The employment act has a very narrow mention of domestic workers where it states that there is no permit requirement for one to recruit a domestic servant for employment. While the employment act 2006 recognises “housemaids,” the irony is that the act does not recognise the category of workers known as “domestic workers” because homes are considered private premises and therefore cannot be inspected by labour officers to enforce the act.

That is the only provision in the law; the constitution of the Republic of Uganda does not have specific provision tackling the work done by domestic workers in Uganda.

In this case, employers should exhibit their utmost integrity to treat domestic workers as human beings. It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that there is a fair and decent working environment for a domestic worker.

The new convention requires the provision of basic/fundamental rights to domestic workers on par with all other workers. Moreover, it requires that:

1. Domestic workers are informed of their conditions of employment in an understandable manner through a written contract;
2. Domestic workers are made to work only normal hours of work (for example, 48 hours a week in Pakistan and India) and other provisions like overtime compensation, periods of daily and weekly rest and annual paid leave are complied with;
3. Minimum age and minimum wage regulations (as are the norm in a country) are complied with;
4. Wages are to be paid in cash, however, only a limited portion of wages may be in kind.

For migrant domestic workers, the convention requires that a written contract must be signed and handed over to a worker before he/she crosses the national boundary. However, this provision is not applicable when people enjoy the freedom of movement through some bilateral or multilateral agreements. This provision is not applicable in the case of EU as well.

The Employment Act 2006 states that there is no permit requirement for one to recruit a domestic servant for employment. However, beyond this, there is no other specific provision in the constitution of Uganda or the labour laws regarding domestic workers in Uganda.