COIDA for domestic employers: register, report an injury, pay the yearly assessment

Most households know about UIF. Fewer know that a domestic worker injured at work is covered by a second scheme, and that the household is the one that has to register for it. This guide covers the three COIDA jobs an employer actually has: register, report, and pay once a year.

Why COIDA applies to your household

The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) pays medical costs and compensation when an employee is hurt, or made ill, by work. Domestic workers were left out of the Act for decades. In Mahlangu v Minister of Labour (Constitutional Court, November 2020) the court ruled that excluding them was unconstitutional, and they are now covered. Households can register as employers with the Compensation Fund.

The practical point is protection on both sides. A registered employer's worker has a claim on the Fund for treatment and lost earnings. If a worker is hurt and the employer never registered, the Fund can try to recover the cost of the claim from the employer.

Step 1: Register as an employer

• Register with the Compensation Fund through its online system or at a labour centre of the Department of Employment and Labour.
• Have ready your own ID number, your address, your worker's ID number and the worker's yearly earnings.
• Keep the registration number the Fund gives you - every return and payment uses it.
• Register soon after your worker starts. Do not wait for the first accident.

Step 2: Know what to do if your worker is hurt

Take the injury seriously even if it looks minor, and:

1. Get your worker treated first. Do not delay care to do paperwork.
2. Report the accident to the Compensation Fund. The Act sets a short deadline for the employer's report, which runs from when you learn of the accident - about seven days. Report quickly and confirm the exact deadline with the Fund.
3. Keep a record: the date, what happened, who saw it, and any medical notes.
4. If your worker is ill because of work, for example a long-term back or skin condition, report that as well.

Time off for a work injury is separate from ordinary sick leave. Your worker's leave under the BCEA is covered in our hours, leave and contract guide.

Step 3: File the yearly return and pay the assessment

Each year the Fund asks employers to declare what they paid their employees, and then raises an assessment. It works like this:

• You declare the year's earnings per employee, up to a cap on earnings per worker. For 2026/27 the cap on this page's calculator is R668,000 - far above a domestic wage, so the cap rarely matters for a household.
• The Fund applies its tariff rate per R100 of earnings for your industry class.
• If the result is below the minimum assessment, you pay the minimum. The calculator uses R560 for domestic employers from 1 March 2026.

Try your own numbers. The example below is a full-time worker on the minimum wage for a year:

Calculator by CalcSA - open the COIDA calculator if it does not load.

Where this fits with your other admin

• UIF is monthly and pays your worker when work stops. COIDA is yearly and pays when work causes harm. See UIF for domestic workers, step by step.
• Add COIDA to the HomeHR to-do list so the yearly return does not catch you out.
• The full yearly bill, with wages and UIF, is in what a domestic worker really costs in 2026.

Common mistakes

• Assuming UIF covers injuries. It does not. Injuries at work go through COIDA.
• Not registering because nothing has happened yet. The registration matters most on the day something does.
• Reporting late. A late report can delay your worker's claim.
• Ignoring the assessment letter. Unpaid assessments attract penalties.

General information, not legal advice. Every figure we use is on the rates page with its source.