Registration is a legal duty, not a choice
Once a domestic worker works more than 24 hours a month for you, registering them for UIF (and, since Mahlangu v Minister of Labour [2020] ZACC 24, for COIDA) is compulsory. There is no household exemption. Failing to register doesn't make the obligation disappear — it just means you are non-compliant and the liability accumulates quietly until the worker claims, is injured, or the authorities catch up.
What the UIF can recover
The Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act lets the UIF recover the contributions you should have been paying — your 1% plus the worker's 1%, up to R177.12 each per month — backdated to when you first became liable, together with interest and a penalty on the unpaid amounts. We don't quote a fixed penalty figure because it is set by the Fund and can change; the point is that the bill grows the longer registration is left undone. Catching up is far cheaper than being assessed.
The COIDA risk is the one that bankrupts people
This is the consequence most households don't see coming. Since Mahlangu, a domestic worker injured or made ill by their work can claim from the Compensation Fund. If you never registered, the Fund can still pay the worker and then recover what it paid from you — and you can be held personally liable for medical costs, lost income and, in a serious case, a disability or death benefit. Registering means the Fund carries that risk instead of you, for a modest annual assessment.
Your worker loses real protection
Beyond your own exposure, non-registration strips your worker of the safety net the law gives them: no UIF means no payout if you let them go, if they go on maternity leave, or if illness stops them working; no COIDA means a workplace injury leaves them and their family with nothing. Registering is part of treating the person who works in your home with basic dignity, not just avoiding a fine.
How to fix it
If you've been employing someone without registering, the fix is to register now rather than wait. Register as a domestic employer on uFiling, declare the worker, and start paying monthly; for COIDA, register with the Compensation Fund and file your Return of Earnings in the annual window (check the Compensation Fund for the current window). Voluntarily catching up is treated far more leniently than being found out. Compliance tool, not legal advice.