Your Domestic Worker Needs a Payslip and UIF — Here Is the How
The household is South Africa’s most informal workplace — and the one where employer obligations are most often simply unknown. If a domestic worker helps in your home more than a day a week, the law sees an employer-employee relationship with paperwork attached. Here is the complete, honest how-to.
- ✔24+ hours a month makes you a full employer — contract, payslips, UIF, COIDA.
- ✔Cash wages still need an itemised payslip every month.
- ✔uFiling registration is free; UIF costs 2% of wages monthly.
- ✔When employment ends, your UI-19 unlocks your worker’s claim.
The domestic worker paperwork: contract and payslip
Start with the two documents. The written particulars — a simple contract covering the job, hours, wage, leave and notice — are a BCEA section 29 duty in households exactly as in companies (contract requirements). The payslip follows every payday: employer and worker names, the period, hours worked, the rate, gross pay, the UIF deduction, and net pay — required whether you pay by EFT or in cash (payslip rules).
Your worker needs payslips for rentals, accounts and UIF claims; you need them as proof of payment if the relationship ever sours. Admin Boss’s free payslip generator produces a compliant one in two minutes — including the UIF maths.
Domestic worker UIF: registration and the monthly 2%
UIF registration for households happens only on uFiling — no SARS registration needed. Register as a domestic employer, add your worker (ID exactly as per their document, start date, wage), and declare monthly by the 7th. The cost is 2% of wages: 1% deducted from your worker, 1% from you — R90 a month in total on a R4,500 wage. The complete process is in UIF for domestic workers.
| Monthly wage | Worker (1%) | You (1%) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| R3,000 | R30 | R30 | R60 |
| R4,500 | R45 | R45 | R90 |
| R6,500 | R65 | R65 | R130 |
COIDA and the ending: the two duties households forget
COIDA covers your worker for injuries on duty — a fall from a ladder, a kitchen burn — and protects you from a personal claim. Households register with the Compensation Fund; the annual assessment at domestic wages is modest (COIDA for domestic employers). And the ending: whenever employment stops — whatever the reason — you submit a UI-19 on uFiling so your worker can claim; it is the document that makes years of contributions real (claims guide).
Admin Boss registers domestic employers for UIF (R450) and COIDA (R350), remotely, with the declarations explained as they go. The full household picture is in domestic worker employer obligations.
Always confirm current requirements with the official source — rules and deadlines change.
- ✔UIF registration for domestic employers — R450
- ✔Monthly declarations handled
- ✔Stay legal as a household employer
Frequently asked questions
Does my domestic worker really need a payslip?
Yes — BCEA section 33 applies to households: an itemised payslip every pay period showing hours, rate, gross pay, deductions and net pay, regardless of whether wages are paid in cash or by EFT.
How much does UIF cost for a domestic worker?
2% of wages in total — 1% deducted from the worker and 1% paid by you. On a R4,500 monthly wage that is R45 each, R90 together, declared monthly on uFiling.
My worker comes once a week — must I still register?
Once a week is roughly 35 hours a month — over the 24-hour UIF threshold. Registration, payslips and the contract duty all apply. Only genuinely occasional work under 24 hours a month falls outside.
Last reviewed: July 2026 · How we research our guides
EmployerGuide.online provides general information about South African employer obligations — not legal, tax or professional advice for your specific situation. Laws, rates and deadlines change; confirm current requirements with the official sources linked above, or ask Admin Boss. See our disclaimer.