UIF for Domestic Workers: What Every South African Household Employer Must Do

If you employ a domestic worker, a gardener, a childminder, or anyone else who works in your home for more than 24 hours a month, you are an employerunder the Unemployment Insurance Act. That means you have to register for UIF, contribute monthly, and declare the employment — the same way any business does. The Department of Employment and Labour estimates that fewer than half of South African household employers actually do it.

This is the part of UIF most families only discover when their domestic worker goes on maternity leave, loses her job, or takes a question to the CCMA. This guide explains what the law requires of households, how to register through uFiling, how much to contribute, and how to regularise a position that has quietly gone on for years.

For the broader UIF framework — business employers, PAYE integration, contribution calculations, record-keeping — read the UIF for Employers Guide. This article focuses on the household context.

Who counts as a domestic worker for UIF purposes

The Unemployment Insurance Act defines a domestic worker broadly as any person employed in a private household. That includes:

• Domestic helpers and housekeepers
• Gardeners
• Childminders and au pairs
• Drivers employed privately by the household
• Caregivers for elderly or ill family members
• Cooks and household managers

The trigger is employment in a private household. It does not matter whether the worker lives on the property, comes in daily, or works a few days a week. The 24-hour-per-month threshold is measured across the full month — so two full workdays a week will almost always qualify.

What you must do as a household employer

Your obligations as a household employer are functionally identical to those of a business:

1. Register with the UIF as an employer and register each worker individually.
2. Contribute monthly— 1% from your pocket, 1% deducted from the worker's wage — based on the worker's monthly earnings.
3. Submit a monthly declarationshowing the worker's earnings and the contribution.
4. Pay the contribution by the 7th of the following month.
5. Keep records of wages, deductions, and contributions for at least five years.

How to register through uFiling

Household employers register through uFiling — the Department of Employment and Labour's dedicated UIF system — not through SARS eFiling. uFiling was built specifically for this context and does not require you to be registered for PAYE.

Step 1 — Create a uFiling account

Visit www.ufiling.co.za and register as a domestic employer. You will need your South African ID number, your residential address, a contact number, and a bank account from which contributions will be debited each month.

Step 2 — Add the domestic worker to your account

Capture each worker's full name, ID number (or passport number and work-permit details for non-nationals), date of first employment, and monthly wage. If the worker has been with you for years, use the actualdate of first employment — not the registration date — because backdated contributions may be assessed from that point.

Step 3 — Authorise the monthly debit order

uFiling calculates the combined 2% contribution and debits your bank account on the 7th of the following month. You can also pay manually via EFT using your uFiling reference number if you prefer.

Step 4 — Submit the monthly declaration

The declaration is a simple confirmation of the worker's monthly earnings for the period. uFiling pre-fills the previous month's figures; you only need to update if the wage has changed or if the worker has left your employment.

How much you contribute

UIF contributions in a household are calculated the same way as in a business:

• Employer contribution:1% of the worker's monthly remuneration
• Employee contribution:1% of the worker's monthly remuneration, deducted from her wage

Contributions are capped at the UIF earnings ceiling — R17,712 per month for 2025/2026. The maximum combined contribution per worker is therefore R354.24 per month (R177.12 employer, R177.12 employee). Most household wages fall well below the ceiling, so the contribution is usually proportionally less.

Three quick examples:

• Worker earning R3,500/month:combined contribution is R70 — R35 from you, R35 deducted from her wage.
• Worker earning R6,000/month:combined contribution is R120 — R60 from you, R60 deducted.
• Worker earning R12,000/month:combined contribution is R240 — R120 from you, R120 deducted.

What the UIF actually gives your worker

UIF benefits are not a fringe. They are the reason the law exists. A registered and contributed-for worker can claim short-term benefits in any of these situations:

• Unemployment— if she loses her job for reasons other than misconduct.
• Maternity— up to 17 weeks of maternity benefits calculated on her wage up to the ceiling.
• Adoption or parental leave— shorter periods than maternity, for adopting or commissioning parents.
• Illness— if she is off work for more than 14 days for a certified illness.
• Dependants' benefits— paid to her family if she dies while contributing.

None of these are available if she was never registered. The practical result: when she tries to claim and cannot, the dispute tends to land back at the employer's door — at the CCMA, the Labour Court, or through a civil claim for the shortfall.

Regularising a long-standing arrangement

A large number of South African households employ someone who has been with them for five, ten, or twenty years with no UIF registration. The law is clear that contributions can be backdated to the actual date of employment — the Fund and SARS can and do assess backdated amounts plus penalties and interest.

The practical route to regularising a historical arrangement is voluntary disclosure: register now, confirm the true start date, and work out a backdated settlement with the Fund rather than waiting for an audit or a worker complaint. Voluntary disclosure routinely results in reduced penalties, and removes the CCMA risk that follows an unregistered arrangement for the rest of its life.

A labour practitioner can handle this process for a fee that is almost always less than the penalties avoided.

If the worker leaves

When a domestic worker leaves your employment — whether through resignation, dismissal, or end of a fixed term — you have two UIF obligations:

1. Update uFiling to reflect her end date and the reason for leaving.
2. Issue a UI-19 formif she asks for one — this is the employer's confirmation of employment history that she will need when she claims benefits.

Refusing to issue a UI-19 or delaying the update on uFiling stops her from claiming the benefits she is entitled to and is a common trigger for a CCMA complaint.

How UIF fits with the wider compliance picture

UIF is one of several obligations that attach to anyone who employs another person, even in a household. Depending on the wage and the nature of the work, you may also need to consider:

• A written employment contractunder the Basic Conditions of Employment Act — required for any employee.
• COIDA registration if the worker does anything that could cause injury in the course of the work (applicable to many domestic contexts).
• Compliance with the sectoral determination for minimum wagefor domestic workers — currently R28.79 per hour for 2026.

The good news is that UIF registration is the anchor most of the other obligations hang off, and setting it up correctly makes the rest straightforward.

Frequently asked questions

My domestic worker only comes in twice a week. Do I still need to register for UIF?

If she works more than 24 hours per month in total, yes. The 24-hour threshold is measured across the month, not per visit. Two full days per week easily exceeds the threshold, so registration and monthly contributions are required.

Can I deduct the full 2% from my domestic worker's wage?

No. You can deduct only 1% from her wage. The other 1% is your contribution as the employer. Deducting the full 2% is unlawful and disputes at the CCMA on this point routinely go against the employer.

What if I pay my gardener in cash — does UIF still apply?

Yes. The form of payment does not matter. If he works more than 24 hours per month for you, he is an employee under the Unemployment Insurance Act and must be registered, contributed for, and declared monthly. Paying in cash is not a workaround.

My domestic worker has worked for me for ten years and I have never registered. What do I do?

Register now and voluntarily disclose the backdated position through uFiling or a labour practitioner. Voluntary disclosure typically results in a reduced penalty compared to being found through an audit or a worker complaint. The Fund can backdate contributions to the date of employment, but regularising voluntarily is far cheaper than defending a claim at the CCMA later.

What happens if my domestic worker goes on maternity leave?

If she has been registered and contributed for, she can claim maternity benefits from the UIF directly. You, as the employer, are not required to pay her wages during maternity leave — the UIF pays a benefit calculated on her wage, up to the earnings ceiling. If you never registered her, she cannot claim — and she can hold you personally responsible for the shortfall at the CCMA.

Do I register on SARS eFiling or uFiling for a domestic worker?

Use uFilingfor a domestic worker. uFiling is the Department of Employment and Labour's dedicated UIF system and is the designed pathway for household employers. SARS eFiling is for business employers with PAYE; households without PAYE obligations do not need it.