Earn without capitalWage work, no degreeChecked Oct 2026
Domestic Work: Cook, Maid, Babysitter, Elder Care
घरेलू काम: खाना बनाना, झाड़ू-पोछा, बच्चों और बुज़ुर्गों की देखभाल · घरकाम: स्वयंपाक, धुणीभांडी, मुलांची व वृद्धांची देखभाल
Cooking, cleaning, childcare or looking after an elderly or sick person in other people's homes, paid monthly per house or per shift. Always in demand in cities, with almost no legal protection.
The short answer
The most available work in any city for someone with no schooling and no money, and cooks and trained carers can earn decently from several houses. The weakness is that pay, leave and treatment depend entirely on the employer. Fix the terms before you start, work for more than one house, and register on e-Shram.
- Money to start
- None
- Education
- No minimum
- Vehicle
- Not needed
- Skill
- Learnt on the job
Part-time workers visit several homes a day for an hour or two each, cleaning, washing utensils or cooking. Full-time and live-in workers serve one household. Childcare and care of elderly or bedridden people is paid more, especially for those with some nursing-aide training, and is often arranged in 12 or 24-hour shifts through agencies. Work is found by word of mouth in housing societies, through placement agencies, and now through apps that sell cleaning and cooking by the hour. There is no written contract in most cases.
What you need
- Age 18 or above.
- Reliability and punctuality, which matter more to employers than anything else.
- Cooking skill for cook's work: households pay for regional styles and special diets.
- For patient and elder care, a short care-assistant course helps and raises pay.
- Aadhaar for the police verification many societies ask for.
- A bank account of your own.
How the money works
The household pays you directly each month, in cash or by UPI, at a rate you agree for each task or for the hours. Agencies and apps pay per shift or per visit and keep a commission. There is no automatic leave, bonus or raise unless you agree on one.
- Rates differ sharply between localities. The only useful guide is what others in the same society are paid.
- Cooking and care work pay more than cleaning.
- Several part-time houses give more income and more safety than one employer.
- A few states have notified minimum wages for domestic work; most have not.
What people actually take home
We do not estimate earnings ourselves. Each line below is someone else's figure, with who said it and when.
Domestic workers earn on average about one-third of wages in other sectors, with many paid irregularly or late. Workers on app platforms have been found earning as little as ₹49 an hour.
Website estimate, method not shownOct 2025 · Drishti IAS: Empowering domestic workers in India
There is no national minimum wage for domestic work. Some states, including Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, have notified minimum wages for it; Tamil Nadu's notified rate is cited as ₹37 to ₹39 an hour.
Website estimate, method not shownOct 2025 · Drishti IAS: Empowering domestic workers in India
About 2.81 crore domestic and household workers had registered on the e-Shram portal by July 2023.
Government or regulatorJuly 2023 · KS&K: e-Shram benefits for domestic workers
What we could not find
- Monthly rates for cooks, cleaners and carers by city. The national survey of domestic workers launched in 2022 has not published results that we found.
- Whether your state has notified a minimum wage for domestic work.
| Ask before you start | Where to ask |
|---|---|
| What do households in this society pay for each task? | Other workers in the same buildings |
| Has this state fixed a minimum wage for domestic work, and is there a welfare board to register with? | The state labour department or the local labour office |
| What commission does this agency or app keep from what the customer pays? | The agency, before you accept a placement |
Is it legal where you live?
All India
Domestic workers are not covered by most labour laws, and there is no national law for them. They can register free on the e-Shram portal as unorganised workers. Some states have minimum wages or welfare boards for them. The law against sexual harassment at the workplace covers homes, through the district's Local Committee.
As of Oct 2026
How to start
- Ask women already working in nearby societies what is paid and which houses need help.
- Agree before starting: tasks, hours, monthly pay, weekly off, festival leave and the date of payment.
- Start with two or three houses, not one.
- Register on e-Shram (eshram.gov.in) or at a Common Service Centre.
- If you want care work, take a short patient-care or elder-care course; see free skill training.
What is good about it
- Work is available in every city, close to where you live.
- No schooling, money or documents needed to begin.
- Part-time houses fit around your own family's needs.
- Cooks and trained carers are paid noticeably more.
What is hard about it
- No written terms, and little legal protection.
- No paid leave, sick pay or pension unless the employer agrees.
- Pay rises only if you ask, or move.
- Risk of mistreatment, false accusations of theft, and harassment.
- Hard physical work with no growth unless you add a skill.
Traps to avoid
- Placement agencies that take a fee from you, or keep your first month's pay.
- Offers of live-in work in another city or abroad through unknown agents. Many trafficking cases begin this way.
- Agencies that hold your Aadhaar card or other originals.
Where this can lead
Questions people ask
What is the salary of a maid or cook?+
There is no standard. It depends on the city, the locality, the tasks and the hours, and is whatever you agree with each household. Ask other workers in the same society, and check whether your state has notified a minimum wage for domestic work.
Is there any law to protect domestic workers?+
There is no national law specifically for them. A few states have minimum wages or welfare boards, you can register on e-Shram as an unorganised worker, and the law against sexual harassment applies to work in homes.
Sources
- Drishti IAS: Empowering domestic workers in India (Oct 2025)
- KS&K: e-Shram benefits for domestic workers
Pay rates, fees and rules change often and differ by city. Confirm them with the company or the regulator before you commit money or leave other work.
Compare with
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सिक्योरिटी गार्ड · सुरक्षा रक्षक
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Money to start
None
Education
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Vehicle
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Running the neighbourhood Anganwadi centre for young children and mothers: pre-school, hot meals, weighing and records. A fixed monthly honorarium from the centre and the state, but not a government job.
Money to start
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Education
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Vehicle
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अर्बन कंपनी पार्टनर · अर्बन कंपनी पार्टनर
Doing beauty, cleaning, AC, appliance, plumbing or electrical jobs at customers' homes through an app. The best hourly earnings among app-based work, but it needs a real skill.
Money to start
₹5,000 to ₹25,000
Education
No minimum
Vehicle
Two-wheeler