Yes. Every household that employs a domestic worker must register with the Compensation Fund under COIDA, whatever her hours and whatever she earns. There is no 24-hour rule for COIDA. It costs 1.04% of what you pay her in a year, with a minimum of R560 a year per household, paid once a year after you file a Return of Earnings. For a worker on the minimum wage for 40 hours a week that is about R654 a year. On AskMandla's full service, COIDA registration and the annual Return of Earnings are handled by our team behind the scenes, with no extra fee.
What COIDA is
COIDA is the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993. It sets up the Compensation Fund, run by the Department of Employment and Labour, which pays out when a worker is injured at work, gets ill because of her work, or dies from a work injury. It is no-fault cover: she does not have to prove you were careless, and the employer is generally protected from being sued for the injury outside the COIDA process (section 35 of COIDA).
The Fund pays for:
- Her medical treatment, paid directly to the doctor or hospital
- Compensation for her time off when she is booked off work for more than 3 days
- A lump sum or pension if the injury leaves her permanently disabled
- Support for her dependants if she dies from a work injury
It covers injuries and illnesses that arise out of and in the course of her work: a fall while cleaning, a burn in the kitchen, a cut in the garden. It does not cover a road accident on her ordinary commute to and from your home.
Why households have to register
Domestic workers were left out of COIDA until the Constitutional Court's Mahlangu ruling on 19 November 2020, which found that exclusion unconstitutional and applied the cover back to 27 April 1994. On 10 March 2021 the Compensation Fund published a notice (Government Notice 106 of 2021, Government Gazette 44250) saying that all employers of domestic employees must register with the Compensation Fund and submit the necessary returns.
Who must register
Every household that employs a domestic worker, a nanny, a gardener, a carer or a driver at a private home. That includes a worker who comes in one morning a week.
- There is no hours threshold. The 24-hours-a-month rule belongs to UIF, not COIDA. A worker on fewer than 24 hours a month needs no UIF registration, but her employer still registers for COIDA.
- There is no earnings threshold. An older figure of about R23,750 a year that circulated online has no legal source.
- One registration covers all your workers. You register the household once, and the yearly assessment is worked out on the total you pay all your domestic workers.
What COIDA costs
There is no monthly COIDA payment. Once a year the Fund charges an assessment: 1.04% of what you paid your workers in the year, with a minimum of R560 per household (Class M, households and domestic workers, Government Notice 3910 of 2026 for the 2026/27 year). Earnings include the cash value of any free food and accommodation you give her. The Fund only counts earnings up to R668,000 per worker a year, so the full wage of a domestic worker always counts.
Anyone paying less than about R53,850 a year (about R4,490 a month) pays the R560 minimum.
| Her pay | Wages in a year | 1.04% of that | What you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| R375, one morning a week | about R19,500 | about R203 | R560 (the minimum) |
| Minimum wage, 40 hours a week (R5,239.87 a month) | R62,878.44 | R653.94 | R653.94 |
| Minimum wage, 45 hours a week (R5,894.85 a month) | R70,738.20 | R735.68 | R735.68 |
| R7,000 a month | R84,000 | R873.60 | R873.60 |
The Fund sends you a notice of assessment after your Return of Earnings, and you pay it within 30 days. The assessment goes to the Compensation Fund. It is a government charge, separate from anything you pay AskMandla.
How to register for COIDA yourself
You register the household as an employer with the Compensation Fund and receive a Compensation Fund registration number (often called a CF number). The Fund's 2021 notice for household employers sets out the documents:
- A completed CF-1E form (the application to register as a domestic worker employer)
- A copy of your ID, passport or work permit
- Proof of your home address
- A copy of your worker's ID, passport or work permit
- A copy of her employment contract
The notice says to email the application to RegistrationCF@labour.gov.za or CFCallcentre@labour.gov.za. You can also register on the Fund's online system (cfonline.labour.gov.za) or at a Labour Centre. The Fund's general employer registration form is the W.As.2. The online system is often slow, so many households end up applying by email and following up.
Register as soon as she starts. If you have employed someone for years and never registered, register now. Her right to claim does not depend on your registration, but a household that was never registered can face a penalty if she is hurt at work.
The yearly Return of Earnings
Once you are registered, you file a Return of Earnings every year. It declares what you actually paid your workers in the last assessment year and estimates what you will pay in the next one. The Fund uses it to work out your assessment.
- The assessment year runs from 1 March to the end of February, not January to December.
- The filing window is announced by the Fund each year. In 2026 it ran from 1 April to 30 June 2026, and it has closed.
- Filing late costs more. The Compensation Commissioner can assess a late filer on estimated earnings and add a penalty of up to 10% of the assessment (section 83(6) of COIDA). The Fund's final reminder, Notice 4140 of 2026, gives employers with outstanding 2025 or earlier returns until 31 October 2026 before it does so.
The full walk-through, with the figures to have ready, is in the Return of Earnings guide.
The letter of good standing
A letter of good standing is the Compensation Fund's proof that an employer is registered and up to date. To get one, your Returns of Earnings and assessment payments must be up to date. A registered employer generates it online on the Fund's system (cfonline.labour.gov.za), using the same login as for the Return of Earnings. It is issued once a year, and anyone can check it with its certificate number. Some estates, bodies corporate and labour inspectors ask to see it.
If your worker is injured at work
COIDA puts these duties on you as the employer:
- Get her medical treatment straight away, and arrange her transport to the doctor or hospital and home again. Arranging that transport is a legal duty under section 72 of COIDA.
- Write down what happened while it is fresh: the date, the time, what she was doing and who saw it.
- Ask the treating doctor for the first medical report (form W.Cl.4).
- Report the accident to the Compensation Fund within 7 days of finding out about it, on form W.Cl.2, "Employer's Report of an Accident". You can do it on the Fund's online system or at a Labour Centre. Report within the 7 days even if the doctor's report is not ready yet.
- If she is booked off for more than 3 days, you pay her the compensation for that time off for the first 3 months, and the Fund refunds you. Never deduct any of it from her wages.
- Keep copies of everything.
Missing the 7-day deadline costs you, not her: a late report can carry a penalty of up to the full compensation payable, plus interest. Her own right to claim stays open for 3 years after the accident.
On our full service, COIDA registration and the annual Return of Earnings are handled by our team behind the scenes. We do not file or manage an injury claim, because it needs your signature and the doctor's medical report. If it happens, message us and we will walk you through each step and the forms.
How AskMandla handles COIDA
COIDA registration and the annual Return of Earnings are handled by our team behind the scenes. Your part happens in the WhatsApp chat: you give us your details and documents once, when you sign up.
- Registration. We prepare and submit your household's registration to the Compensation Fund. We do your UIF registration first, because the COIDA form asks for your UIF reference number, and the COIDA side follows. Your status shows as in progress until the Fund confirms your registration number.
- The Return of Earnings. Every year we work out the earnings totals from the payslips we already run for you, and file the return in the Fund's window.
- The assessment. We tell you the amount when the notice arrives, and you pay the Fund within 30 days.
- The cost. COIDA admin is part of the full service (R450 once-off per worker, then R49 a month), with no extra AskMandla fee for COIDA. COIDA is not offered on its own. The only COIDA cost on top is the Fund's yearly assessment.
The full service also covers her employment contract, UIF registration and her monthly UIF contributions, payday and her payslips, for R49 per worker a month. See pricing and COIDA registration and Return of Earnings.
Questions people ask
Do I need COIDA if my domestic worker only works one day a week?
Yes. COIDA has no hours threshold. A worker who comes in one morning a week is covered, and her employer must register. A worker on low hours usually means you pay the R560 yearly minimum.
Is there a monthly COIDA payment?
No. COIDA is a yearly assessment, worked out from the Return of Earnings you file. UIF is the one paid every month.
How much is COIDA for a domestic worker in 2026?
1.04% of what you pay her in the 2026/27 assessment year, with a minimum of R560 a year per household. A full-time worker on the R30.23 minimum wage for 40 hours a week works out at R653.94 a year.
Is COIDA the same as UIF?
No. They are two separate funds with separate registrations, separate reference numbers and separate payments. UIF covers loss of income when a job ends, for illness and for maternity, and applies from 24 hours a month. COIDA covers injuries and illness caused by work, and applies at any hours.
What happens if I never registered for COIDA?
Register now. Her right to claim does not depend on your registration, but a household that was never registered can face a further penalty under COIDA if an accident happens. AskMandla's team can submit your registration even if your worker has been with you for years.
Does AskMandla charge extra for COIDA?
No. On the full service (R450 once-off per worker, then R49 a month), COIDA registration and the yearly Return of Earnings carry no extra fee. COIDA is not offered on its own. You pay the Fund's yearly assessment yourself.
Sources
- Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993, as amended by the COIDA Amendment Act 10 of 2022 (in force 23 January 2026)
- Mahlangu and Another v Minister of Labour and Others, Constitutional Court, 19 November 2020
- Compensation Fund notice to employers of domestic employees, Government Notice 106 of 2021, Government Gazette 44250, 10 March 2021
- Assessment rates and minimum assessment for 2026/27, Government Notice 3910 of 2026, Government Gazette 54577
- Return of Earnings window for the 2025 assessment period, Notice 3894 of 2026, Government Gazette 54524, 15 April 2026
- Final reminder for outstanding Returns of Earnings, Notice 4140 of 2026, Government Gazette 55347, 8 September 2026