I failed to contribute to my employee's UIF. Am I liable to pay for 1% or 2% of her earnings in addition to penalties and interest?

The long answer

I think it is safe to assume that you are liable for 2% of the earnings of your domestic worker, as it was your responsibility to register the worker and to deduct the 1% for UIF from her salary as well as contribute 1% yourself.  

I quote below from a 2020 News24 article: 

“Keep in mind that if an employer hasn't registered their domestic worker on time, they are not allowed to deduct any outstanding amounts from their salary.”

The process of back paying the UIF contributions, according to a company called Payroll4SA, is:

• Register yourself and your employee for UIF;

• Get a UIF reference number;

• Submit the information to the UIF for the periods you did not submit or pay UIF (only one form per year is needed for backlog periods; thereafter, you need to submit a form every month).

Only after you have submitted the salary information for the backlog periods can the finance department of the UIF calculate what the amount for interest will be.

UIF uFiling gives the following directions: “To register your Domestic uFiling account you need to have the following documents and information available:

• The Domestic employers valid 13 Digit South African ID. Your e-mail address where all correspondence will be emailed.

• If a practitioner is registering a domestic employer, the domestic employer’s details are required.

• Your banking details and valid branch code that you will nominate to be used to securely pay your UIF contributions.

• The employee’s valid 13 Digit South African ID number.

• The employee's employment details.

All of your outstanding returns can be submitted via uFiling for the past five years. The Act requires an Employer to submit monthly returns, you may have to do multiple return submissions and payments.

uFiling does not allow for the payment of penalties and Interest. Please contact the UIF directly to obtain the correct amounts for penalties and Interest. The UIF will then provide you with the correct reference numbers and account number to use when paying penalties and interest.”

Wishing you the best,
Athalie