If your domestic worker works 24 hours or more a month for you, you must register as an employer with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and pay 2% of her wage every month: 1% from you and 1% from her pay. You register once, as a household employer, with the Department of Employment and Labour, either on uFiling or by emailing the paper forms. You then pay her UIF every month and make sure she is declared under your UIF number, because the declaration is what lets her claim. AskMandla can prepare and submit the registration for you once-off for R450, or run her UIF every month as part of the full service.
Who must register
You must register if someone works in your home for 24 hours or more a month for you. That includes a domestic worker, a cleaner, a nanny, a gardener, a carer for someone in your home and a driver employed by the household. Only a worker on less than 24 hours a month with you is left out.
To check, count her real hours: weekly hours times 4⅓ gives the monthly hours.
| How often she works | Hours a month | UIF? |
|---|---|---|
| One 8-hour day a week | about 34.7 | Yes |
| One 5-hour morning a week | about 21.7 | No |
| Two 8-hour days a week | about 69.3 | Yes |
| Five 8-hour days a week | about 173.3 | Yes |
The rule applies per employer. A worker who works one day a week each for four households is covered by each household that gives her 24 hours or more a month.
She cannot opt out. Some workers ask not to be registered because they receive a SASSA grant. Registration is compulsory from 24 hours a month whatever the worker asks. Whether a grant continues is SASSA's decision, based on her income, so she should check her own position with SASSA.
What it costs
UIF is 2% of her gross monthly pay: 1% from you, and 1% deducted from her wage.
| Her monthly pay | Your 1% | Her 1% | Total paid each month |
|---|---|---|---|
| R3,500 | R35.00 | R35.00 | R70.00 |
| R5,239.87 (minimum wage, 40 hours a week) | R52.40 | R52.40 | R104.80 |
| R7,000 | R70.00 | R70.00 | R140.00 |
Contributions are worked out on pay up to R17,712 a month, so each side pays at most R177.12. Registering with the Department is free.
Payment is due within 7 days after the end of each month. A payment that is late attracts a once-off penalty of 10% of the unpaid amount, plus interest.
How to register yourself
You register the household as an employer, and declare your worker under your number.
- Collect the documents. A copy of your ID, proof of your home address dated in the last 3 months, and your worker's ID number (or passport or permit number), start date and monthly pay. Plain copies are fine.
- Register online on uFiling (ufiling.co.za), the Department's site for UIF employers. Create a profile, choose domestic employer, and add your worker. Or, if uFiling will not let you through, email the paper forms: the UI-8D (registration of a domestic employer) and the UI-19 (the form that lists your worker), with your ID and proof of address. The Department takes one complete application per email.
- Wait for your reference number. The Department sends a letter (the UF54) with your UIF reference number: seven digits, a slash and a check digit, for example 1234567/8. Follow up if nothing arrives within a week or two.
- Pay every month using your UIF reference number as the payment reference, and keep her declared under that number on uFiling.
Paying is not the same as declaring
Registering and paying are not enough on their own. Your UIF reference number belongs to you, the employer. Your worker only counts towards it once she has been declared under it, with her ID number, start date and pay. A payment on its own, with your reference number on it, is credited to your account and says nothing about which worker or which month it is for.
If she is never declared, she cannot claim, even though you paid. See paid UIF but she can't claim for how to check and fix it.
UIF that is behind
If you have employed her for months or years without registering or paying, you can fix it. You register (if you have not yet), then pay 2% of her wage for every month that was missed, plus a once-off penalty of 10% of the unpaid amount, and declare those months so they count for her. For missed months in an earlier tax year (before 1 March of this year), you pay the full 2% yourself. The step-by-step method and the costs are in UIF arrears, step by step, and AskMandla does the catch-up for you: see UIF back pay, done for you.
How AskMandla does it for you
There are two ways to have it done.
| Once-off UIF registration | The full service | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | R450 once-off per worker | R450 once-off per worker, then R49 per worker a month |
| UIF registration | Yes: we prepare the forms, submit them and chase until your reference number arrives | Yes |
| Monthly UIF | You pay and declare each month yourself; we send you the steps | We work out her UIF, take her 1% off her pay, add your 1%, and pay it over under your number |
| COIDA registration and Return of Earnings | Not included | Included |
| Employment contract, payday and payslips | Not included | Included |
| Where you start | register.askmandla.com, about 10 minutes, pay at the end | On WhatsApp with Mandla |
If you start with the once-off registration, you can move onto the full service later with no additional onboarding fee. The Department registers you; we take the forms, the submission and the follow-up off your hands, and we chase from day 5 if they have not responded. Details: UIF registration, done for you.
Questions people ask
How do I register my domestic worker for UIF online?
Register as a domestic employer on uFiling (ufiling.co.za), add your worker with her ID number, start date and pay, and then declare and pay every month. If uFiling will not let you through, email the UI-8D and UI-19 forms with a copy of your ID and proof of address, or have AskMandla submit them for you for R450.
How much does it cost to register a domestic worker for UIF?
Registering with the Department is free. The contributions are 2% of her monthly pay, split 1% and 1%. AskMandla's once-off registration service, where we prepare, submit and follow up the forms for you, is R450 per worker.
My worker only works one day a week. Do I need to register her?
Count her hours. One full 8-hour day a week is about 34.7 hours a month, so you must register her. One 5-hour morning a week is about 21.7 hours a month, so you do not. COIDA applies either way.
How long does UIF registration take?
The Department sets the pace. It sends a UF54 letter with your reference number once the registration is processed. When AskMandla submits for you, we chase it from day 5 until the number arrives.
Is registering for UIF the same as claiming UIF?
No. Registering is what you do as the employer so that she is covered. Claiming is what she does when she loses her job, goes on maternity leave or falls ill. See how to claim UIF.
Do I pay UIF to SARS or the Department of Employment and Labour?
Nearly every household pays UIF to the Department of Employment and Labour through uFiling. A household that is registered with SARS for PAYE (because a worker earns above the tax threshold) declares and pays her UIF to SARS on the monthly EMP201 instead.
Sources
- Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001, as amended by the Unemployment Insurance Amendment Act 10 of 2016 (who is covered; the 24-hour rule; declarations)
- Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act 4 of 2002 (the 1% and 1%; payment before the 7th; section 12 interest; section 13 penalty of 10%)
- IOL, "'It's not optional': Employers warned to register domestic workers for UIF in South Africa", 9 July 2026, quoting the Department's Inspector-General