[imagesource:here]

New laws for domestic workers in South Africa were introduced in April 2023, providing a massive boost to their rights and protections in the country.

The main thing you need to know is that domestic workers in South Africa are now considered formal employees under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA).

This means that anyone employing a domestic worker must comply with the relevant laws, with the Department of Employment and Labour providing a deadline for all employers to submit the relevant documentation to do so.

Before this new bill, domestic workers were not entitled to benefits such as compensation for work-related injuries or illnesses but now the Compensation Fund will start accepting claims from domestic workers and their dependents for injuries or deaths resulting from work-related accidents, noted BusinessTech.

The Act will hold the “main employer” of a domestic worker accountable for any workplace injuries sustained by the employee. Under the Act, employers and the domestic worker will also be required to contribute to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

Basically:

• A domestic worker who works for more than 27 hours per month must be registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) as a contributor to the UIF and as an employee.
• A total of 2% of the employee’s salary must be paid to UIF each month, where 1% has to be paid by the employer, and the other 1% may be deducted from the employee’s wages.
• Workers must also be covered against occupational diseases, injuries and death, and employers must be registered with the Compensation Fund and submit annual returns.
• Employers are expected to pay an annual contribution to the fund based on an employee’s total earnings for the year.

There are also some things to consider for the domestic workers’ earnings:

Earnings include all the remuneration workers receive from the employer, including: Overtime; Bonuses paid; Commission; The cash value of food and quarters supplied as part of their remuneration package; The cash value of fringe benefits; Travel and other allowances; and Any other remuneration in cash or kind to an employee as part of their contract.

Additionally:

Earnings carry both a minimum and maximum threshold per employee, annually. The Maximum earnings threshold is R529,246 (if an employee earns more than this in a year, it is capped at this amount), while the minimum is R1,443 – or R498 for domestic workers.

All employers are also required to submit a statement of earnings paid to all their workers – typically from the beginning of March to the end of February. There is some leeway this year:

“Employers thus have until 30 June 2023 to submit all their Return of Earnings to avoid a penalty for the late submission of the 2022 ROEs. To be in good standing, you are required to submit the Return of Earnings before the set deadline.”

Any submissions after the deadline will be charged a 10% penalty for late submission, the department said.

The Return of Earnings submissions can be made online at the department’s website – or have a look at the forms needed here.

[source:businesstech]