UIF for Domestic Workers: What Employers Must Do (2026/2027)

1. The Short Answer

Anyone who employs a domestic worker for more than 24 hours a month must register as a domestic employer with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), deduct 1% of the worker's pay, add 1% of their own, and pay the total every month. You must also register them with the Compensation Fund under COIDA, which covers injuries and illness at work.

For a full-time domestic worker on the 2026 minimum wage, UIF costs the employer about R59 a month. Not registering can leave you liable for years of unpaid contributions, both yours and the worker's.

2. Who Must Be Registered

"Domestic worker" covers more than cleaners. It includes anyone employed in or around your home, such as:

• housekeepers and cleaners
• gardeners
• nannies and childminders
• carers looking after an elderly or sick family member
• household drivers

The test is hours with you. Someone who works one 8-hour day a week works about 35 hours a month, which is over 24, so must be registered. A worker with several employers is registered separately by each employer for whom they work more than 24 hours a month.

Workers employed through a labour broker or cleaning company are that company's responsibility, not yours.

3. What UIF Costs

UIF is 2% of the worker's monthly pay: 1% deducted from their wage and 1% paid by you. It is calculated on earnings up to R17,712 a month, which no domestic wage is likely to reach.

Monthly hours are worked out as weekly hours × 52 ÷ 12. If you pay more than the minimum wage, UIF is 1% + 1% of what you actually pay. Use our UIF calculator to see what the worker would receive if they claimed.

What the worker gets in return

A registered worker can claim UIF benefits if they lose their job (including when an employer dies or moves away), are ill for more than 14 days, go on maternity, parental or adoption leave, and their dependants can claim if they die. Every four days worked earns one day of benefit credit, up to 365 days over four years. Our UIF benefits guide explains claims.

4. Registering and Paying on uFiling

Domestic employers deal with the Department of Employment and Labour's uFiling system, not with SARS:

1. Register yourself at ufiling.labour.gov.za with your ID number, contact details and bank details.
2. Register as a domestic employer and add each worker with their ID or passport number, start date, hours and monthly pay.
3. Declare each month. Confirm the pay for the month (or tell uFiling that nothing changed).
4. Pay by the 7th of the following month. uFiling can debit your account, or you can pay by EFT using your UIF reference number.
5. Update changes: a pay increase, a change in hours, or the worker leaving. When a worker leaves, record the termination date and reason and give them a completed UI-19 form, which they need to claim.

If you prefer not to use the internet, you can register at a Labour Centre, where staff will give you the paper forms for domestic employers.

5. COIDA: Injury and Illness Cover

Since the Constitutional Court's Mahlangu judgment in November 2020, domestic workers are covered by the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act. If a worker is injured or becomes ill because of their work, for example by falling while cleaning windows, the Compensation Fund pays for medical costs and lost income.

To comply, register with the Compensation Fund through its online Return of Earnings system and submit an annual declaration of what you paid your workers. The annual assessment for a household is small. Without registration, you may be personally liable if a worker is injured.

6. Minimum Wage and Other Basics

• Minimum wage: from 1 March 2026, the national minimum wage is R30.23 per hour (up from R28.79), and domestic workers get the same rate as everyone else.
• Written particulars of employment: give the worker a written contract with hours, pay, duties and leave.
• Payslips: give a payslip every pay day showing pay, hours, and the UIF deduction. A handwritten slip is fine.
• Leave: three weeks' paid annual leave a year for a full-time worker, plus sick leave and family responsibility leave.
• Notice: one week in the first six months, four weeks thereafter.

7. When PAYE Applies

Most domestic workers earn below the income tax threshold, which for 2026/2027 is R99,000 a year (about R8,250 a month) for someone under 65. Below that, no PAYE is due and you do not need to register with SARS.

If you pay a worker above the threshold, you must register with SARS as an employer, deduct PAYE each month and submit the employer returns. Our PAYE calculator shows the tax for a given salary.

8. If You Have Not Registered

The Department of Employment and Labour runs regular inspections of domestic employers, and a worker who tries to claim and finds they were never registered can report the employer. If that happens:

• You are liable for all arrear contributions, including the worker's 1% that you never deducted.
• Penalties and interest can be added to the arrears.
• The worker can still claim, using proof of employment, and the UIF will recover the cost from you.

The fix is simple: register now on uFiling, declare the correct start date, and pay the arrears. For a full-time worker, even two years of missed contributions is under R3,000.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

Every figure on this page was checked against these official sources on 1 November 2026:

• Government of South Africa: How do I register my domestic worker for UIF?
• Department of Employment and Labour: uFiling
• Fasken: A snapshot of the national minimum wage for 2026 (Government Gazette No. 54075)
• SARS: Rates of tax for individuals (2027 tax year)
• News24: What domestic employers must know about UIF and COIDA