COIDA for households, explained

COIDA, explained for households

Last reviewed July 2026 · Sources: COIDA; Constitutional Court ruling (Mahlangu, 2021)

The short answer: COIDA is the Compensation Fund, cover if your worker is injured while working. Since the Constitutional Court’s 2021 Mahlangu ruling, domestic workers are covered and households must register as employers and file an annual Return of Earnings. Most households have never heard of it; it is the single most-asked question we get.

What it covers

Medical costs and compensation if she is injured on duty or contracts a work-related illness, from a fall while cleaning to an injury in the garden. Without registration, that risk sits with you personally.

What a household must do

Register with the Compensation Fund as an employer, then file a Return of Earnings each year (the season usually opens 1 April) and pay the small assessment based on her earnings. Late filing now attracts a 10% penalty.

How AskMandla handles it

COIDA registration admin is part of your setup, and the annual return rides on the records we already keep. It is one of those obligations that is genuinely painless when someone runs it for you, and a real risk when nobody does.