Home Support Staff in Nigeria: Trends

Abstract

Home Support Staff (HSS) System exists in Nigeria and has gone through three major phases corresponding almost to the socio-political development of Nigeria, from the slavery system, to the Master-Apprenticeship system, and now the monetized system. These noticeable trends have, however, not been uniform in Nigeria. The introduction of Nigerian Labour Act in 1971 was expected to radically change the labour relationship between the employer and the employee. The Nigerian Labour Act does not appear to have made a significant impact, on the HSS System, except in the area of monetization of remuneration. Slavery has been abolished; the Master-Apprenticeship system, and the monetized systems of remuneration are now prevalent. The HSS system is associated with both benefits and challenges, for the employer, employee and society. Benefits include physical relief for the employer, exposure and personal development for the employee and hopefully improved standard of living for the society. Challenges include: loss of privacy for the employer; risk of neglect of formal education for the employee; and increased risks of organized crimes in the society. Full enforcement of the Nigerian Labour Act, especially the documentation of terms of employment, with clear job specifications, will reduce the challenges in the HSS system.