If you have employed your domestic worker for months or years without paying her UIF, you can put it right. You need your own UIF reference number first. Then you work out 2% of her pay for every month that was missed, add a 10% penalty on that unpaid amount, declare every one of those months under your number so the money counts for her, and pay the total to the Fund using your reference number. The Department can backdate what you owe to the day she started working for you. AskMandla does the whole catch-up for you, with or without our monthly service.
Who this is for
- You never registered for UIF, and she has worked 24 hours or more a month for you.
- You registered, but stopped paying, or never paid.
- You paid, but she was never declared under your number, so she cannot claim. That last one has its own guide: paid UIF but she can't claim.
If she works less than 24 hours a month for you, no UIF was ever owed for her, so check her hours before you work anything out.
The steps
- Get registered first. You need your own UIF employer reference number before you can pay anything in or declare her. If you do not have one, register on uFiling or with the UI-8D and UI-19 forms (see how to register for UIF). If you think you might already have a number, check before you apply again.
- Find her real start date with you. The Department can backdate your liability to the day she started working for you, not the day you registered. Write down her start date and what you paid her each month since then.
- Work out the contributions. For every missed month, take 2% of what you paid her that month. Use the real wage for each month, not today's wage.
- Add the penalty. A penalty of 10% of the unpaid amount applies as soon as a payment is late. It is charged once on the unpaid amount, not 10% for every month. Only the UIF Commissioner can waive it.
- Declare every missed month for her. On uFiling, or on a UI-19, under your reference number, with her ID or passport number, start date and pay. This is the step people miss. If you pay without declaring her, the money sits against your account and is not credited to her, and she still cannot claim.
- Pay it over to the Fund using your UIF reference number as the payment reference, and keep the proof of payment.
- Follow up until the Department shows the months against her name.
Who pays which share
Going forward, UIF is 1% from you and 1% from her pay. For back months the rule is different:
- Missed months in an earlier tax year (before 1 March of this year): you pay the full 2% yourself. The law does not let you take her 1% from her pay after the end of the tax year it was due in.
- Missed months since 1 March of this year: her 1% can still come off her pay, but never more than she actually owes.
A worked example
Say your worker works part-time, about 30 hours a week, earns R4,000 a month and started on 1 March 2025. You never registered, and you come to fix it in October 2026, so March 2025 to September 2026 is owed. Her pay stayed the same throughout.
| Period | Months | 2% a month | Contributions | Who pays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2025 to February 2026 (last tax year) | 12 | R80 | R960 | You pay all of it |
| March 2026 to September 2026 (this tax year) | 7 | R80 | R560 | R280 from you, and up to R280 from her pay |
| Total contributions | 19 | R1,520 | ||
| 10% penalty on the unpaid amount | R152 | You | ||
| Total, before any interest | R1,672 |
Interest can also run from the day after each payment was due until it is paid, at the prescribed rate set by SARS (10.50% a year from 1 September 2026). The longer arrears sit, the more they cost, so it is worth fixing once you know.
How far back it goes
The starting point is the day she started working for you. There is a hard floor: domestic workers were brought into UIF from 1 April 2003, so nothing before that date is ever owed. In practice, uFiling handles back declarations for around five years, and the Department has accepted longer ones when they are submitted properly.
Do not guess the start month from memory if you can avoid it. A contract, old bank transfers or her own records are all better than a round number.
What it does for her
UIF builds a record of credits under her ID number: one day of benefit for every five days she worked as a contributor, up to 365 days in the four years before she claims. A month that was never declared is never counted. Catching up the declarations is what gives her back those credits, so she can claim if she loses her job, goes on maternity leave or falls ill.
Penalties when you come forward
Households that come forward to fix old UIF are dealing with the ordinary once-off 10% penalty, and possibly interest. The much heavier penalty in the Contributions Act, up to double the contribution, is for an employer who deliberately evades paying. That is a different situation from a household that never knew, or never got round to it.
How AskMandla does it for you
We do the whole catch-up for you: we prepare and submit your registration if you are not registered yet, work out what is owed month by month from her real start date and pay history, put every month on one declaration with the penalty, pay it over under your reference number and follow up with the Department until it shows. You see every amount before anything is paid. Prices and what to send us are on UIF back pay, done for you.
Questions people ask
Can I still register my domestic worker for UIF if she has worked for me for years?
Yes. Register now, and then catch up the months that were missed from her real start date. Registering late is better than not registering, and the declarations are what let her claim.
How much is the penalty for late UIF?
10% of the unpaid amount, charged once as soon as a payment is late. Interest can also run at the prescribed rate (10.50% a year from 1 September 2026) until it is paid. Only the UIF Commissioner can waive the penalty.
Can I deduct the back UIF from my worker's pay?
Only for months in the current tax year (since 1 March), and never more than her 1% for those months. For any month in an earlier tax year you pay the full 2% yourself.
Does paying the arrears let her claim UIF?
Only if each month is also declared under your reference number with her ID or passport number. The payment alone does not credit her.
How long does a UIF catch-up take?
Once everything is submitted, the Department can take anything from a few days to a few weeks to show the months against her name. When AskMandla does it, we follow up until it does.
Sources
- Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act 4 of 2002: section 7(3)(c) and 7(4) (arrear contributions after the tax year), section 12 (interest at the prescribed rate), section 13 (the 10% penalty and the Commissioner's power to waive it)
- Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001, section 13(3), as amended by Act 10 of 2016 (one day's benefit for every five days worked, up to 365 days)
- SARS, interest rates table (Table 1, prescribed rate)