If you employ a domestic worker in your home, you are a COIDA employer. That has been the law since the Constitutional Court ruling in Mahlangu v Minister of Labourin November 2020 — but most households still treat it as something only formal businesses deal with. They are wrong, and the consequences when a worker gets injured are severe.
This article explains exactly what COIDA is for a household employer, the 2026 deadline, how to register and submit your Return of Earnings, what the assessment will cost, and what happens if you have never registered.
What COIDA is — in plain language
COIDA stands for the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act. It is a no-fault insurance fund: every employer in South Africa contributes annually, and any employee who is injured at work or contracts an occupational disease is paid out by the Compensation Fund directly — medical costs, lost income, and disability benefits.
The trade-off is straightforward. The employee cannot sue you for negligence if she is hurt on the job, but only if you are registered and your contributions are up to date. If you are not registered and your domestic worker slips on a wet kitchen floor and breaks her hip, you are personally liable for every cent of her medical bills, lost wages, and any disability compensation — with no insurance cover.
Why domestic workers are now included
Until 2020, COIDA explicitly excluded domestic workers from its definition of “employee.” In Mahlangu v Minister of Labourthe Constitutional Court declared that exclusion unconstitutional — with retrospective effect from 27 April 1994. Every household that has employed a domestic worker, gardener, childminder, driver, or similar worker since then is, in the eyes of the law, a COIDA employer.
In practice the Compensation Fund treats the registration obligation as forward-looking from March 2021, when the system was opened to household employers. If you have employed a domestic worker since then and have not registered, you have a backlog to clear — but regularising voluntarily is much cheaper than waiting for a claim to expose you.
The 2026 deadline
The COIDA Return of Earnings (ROE) filing window for the 2025/2026 assessment year opens on 1 April 2026 and closes on 31 May 2026.
Miss the deadline and the Compensation Fund automatically adds a 10% penalty to your assessment, and your Letter of Good Standing lapses immediately. For business employers the expired letter blocks tenders and B-BBEE verifications — for household employers it mostly matters because it's the document the Fund uses to prove you are entitled to cover when a claim is filed. If you do not have a valid letter when your worker is injured, the Fund still pays her, then recovers the full cost from you.
Whether your specific deadline differs depends on a few details covered in our full COIDA Return of Earnings deadline guide.
How to register your household for COIDA
Step 1: Register on the CF-Portal
Go to cfportal.labour.gov.zaand create an employer account. You will need the household's tax reference number (your personal income tax number is acceptable for a household employer), the addresses where the worker is employed, and your bank details.
The Fund will issue a Compensation Fund reference number once your registration is processed. This number is what you use on every future Return of Earnings and on every EFT when paying your assessment.
Step 2: Submit your Return of Earnings
The ROE captures total earnings paid to all your domestic workers during the assessment year (1 March to 28/29 February) and your provisional estimate for the year ahead. The Fund uses these two numbers to calculate your assessment.
For a household employer with a single domestic worker, the ROE is short — under 15 minutes. The earnings figure is the gross wage you paid for the year, capped at the COIDA earnings ceiling (R654,396 per employee for 2025/2026).
Step 3: Pay the assessment
The Fund issues a Notice of Assessment within 30 days of your ROE. Payment is due on the date stated on the notice — typically 30 days after issue. EFT to the Compensation Fund's standard banking details, with your reference number on the deposit reference. Without the reference number the Fund cannot allocate your payment, your account stays flagged as unpaid, and your Letter of Good Standing will not issue.
What it actually costs
Domestic work falls in the lowest-risk subclass under the COIDA tariff schedule. For the 2026 assessment year the rate is approximately R0.39 per R100 of annual earnings.
On a domestic worker earning R50,000 per year, that's an assessment of roughly R195 per year. On R100,000 per year, around R390. The Fund also enforces a minimum assessment of R130, so a part-time worker on a small wage still triggers the floor.
You can estimate your specific fee using our COIDA assessment calculator before you file.
COIDA vs UIF — do not confuse them
UIF and COIDA are separate funds and separate registrations. Most household employers who have heard of one have not heard of the other.
- UIF covers unemployment, illness, and maternity. You contribute 2% of wages monthly (1% from you, 1% deducted from the worker). See our UIF for domestic workers guide.
- COIDAcovers workplace injury and occupational disease. You pay annually based on the Return of Earnings, with no deduction from the worker's wage.
Registering for one does not register you for the other. You need both.
What happens if you have never registered
The first thing to know: you are not alone. The Compensation Fund estimates that fewer than 15% of South African households who employ a domestic worker are COIDA-registered, despite five years having passed since Mahlangu. The Fund's response has been to focus on regularisation rather than punishment — for now.
Register now. The Fund will calculate a backdated assessment from March 2021 (or your actual employment start date, whichever is later), apply the 10% per-year late penalty, and issue a payment plan if the total is meaningful. For a single domestic worker on R50,000 per year, the backdated total over five years is in the order of R1,000 — not the catastrophe most people fear.
The catastrophe is what happens if your worker is injured and you have never registered. The Fund still pays her medical costs and benefits. Then the Fund pursues you, personally, for the full amount — uncapped, including future loss of income if she cannot return to work. There is no insurance, no cap, and no defence based on the accident not being your fault. That is the trade-off COIDA was designed to remove, and you only get it removed if you are registered.
ClearComply tracks this deadline for you
The COIDA Return of Earnings is one of 12+ compliance obligations ClearComply tracks for South African businesses and households. Your compliance calendar shows the submission window, sends automated reminders before the 31 May deadline, and keeps a record of what you submitted and when.
If you're running a small business with both domestic and commercial employees, the full COIDA picture is covered in our main COIDA guide.