Kristy Keating, CEO and director of Blacksuits, discusses compensation in the event of an accident for your domestic worker.
Labour legislation compliance in the domestic sectors – any employee within the scope of your residence – has always been challenging. Not only compliance issues, but also managing domestic resources efficiently.
Firstly, are you able to answer “Yes” to the following questions?
- Do you know what the minimum wage for a domestic worker is?
- Does your domestic worker have written particulars of employment, or a job description?
- Do you provide your domestic worker with information relating to their pay?
- Are you registered as a domestic employer with UIF and declaring monthly on ufiling?
- Is your domestic worker meeting your standards? If not, what have you done about it?
The Constitutional Court on November 19, 2020, decided that domestic workers are entitled to Compensation under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA), effective immediately and retrospective to April 27, 1994.
Typically, we have seven days to report an accident, but we have now been allowed 12 months from November 19, 2020 to report any cases that have occurred since April 27, 1994.
This means you need to register as an employer with the Compensation Fund and submit a return of earnings for your employee which you will pay an assessment on each year. This falls under class m, sub class 2 500 at an assessment rate of 1,04 from 2021 onwards.
During a recent webinar we hosted, a representative from the Department of Employment and Labour clarified some issues. For instance, what if your domestic worker only works for you one day a week, and perhaps has various employers? That’s irrelevant. If you employ someone for one hour a month, they must be covered for that one hour in case of possible injury. Your employee could slip or be bitten by your dog. All domestic residences are prone to accidents. And lastly, COIDA will also cover if you pass Covid on to your domestic worker.
Don’t miss our next COIDA webinar with DoEL in June. Contact us to get the registration link, follow our telegram page https://t.me/blacksuitsupdates, or follow Blacksuits on Facebook or LinkedIn.
FOR MORE INFO:
- Kristy Keating: 082 312 6114
- www.blacksuits.co.za