UIF registration for employers
If you pay anyone for more than 24 hours a month you are an employer, and you must register with the Unemployment Insurance Fund. That includes households with a domestic worker, a gardener or a nanny. Contributions run from the day the job started, so late registration means arrears rather than a clean slate. We do the registration and hand you your UIF reference number.
UIF registration for employers costs R690 at ProperSA. That is our fixed service fee; government and authority fees are charged at cost on top. If you give us everything we ask for and we still fail to deliver what this page promises, we refund our fee; a refusal by the authority is not refundable.
Independent paperwork service. ProperSA is an independent private company, not the Department of Employment and Labour. You can register as a UIF employer yourself at no charge. Our R690 covers preparation, the appropriate authorised submission route and follow-up. For practitioner work, we obtain a written, scope-limited mandate and use practitioner or delegated access rather than your login credentials. Department approval and processing remain outside our control.
Who this is for
Households with staff
A domestic worker, gardener or nanny working more than 24 hours a month makes you an employer with the same duties as any business.
Your five duties →New employers
You have just hired your first person and want the registration done before contributions start piling up as arrears.
Company registration →Already behind
You have employed someone for a while and never registered. Late registration is normal and we handle it the same way.
COIDA too →What you get for R690
- UI-8 employer registrationYour registration as an employer with the Fund, prepared from the details you give us and submitted for you.
- First employer declaration setupWe prepare the employee information supplied by you and establish the correct declaration routine.
- Your UIF reference numberRecorded in writing once the Department has issued it, so you can find it again months later.
- A contribution worked exampleWhat the two percent actually comes to on your worker's pay, so the first payment is not a guess.
- What to do every monthA plain English sheet on declaring and paying, and what changes when someone joins or leaves.
What we will need from you
- Who you are as the employerYour CIPC registration number if you are a business, or your identity number if you are a household or trade in your own name.
- How you will pay the contributionsIf you are registered with SARS for PAYE or the skills development levy, UIF is declared and paid to SARS on your monthly EMP201, so send us your PAYE reference number. If you are not, contributions are paid directly to the UIF, and we set that up with you.
- Your physical and postal address, an email address and a contact number
- Every worker’s details for the UI-19Full names, identity numbers, the date each one started, what each one earns, and how many hours a month they work. This form goes in with the registration, not after it.
- The date the first person started working for youContributions run from that date, so this is the number that decides whether you have arrears.
- Your SARS and PAYE details if you have themSARS-registered employers may submit UIF returns online, but make UIF payments directly to SARS. We explain the correct route for your account.
Forms go to the Department by post, by email to their registrations address, or at a labour centre, and the whole thing can also be done on uFiling. There is no state fee either way.
How it works
- 1Order and answer a short formYour details, your worker's details and their start date. It takes a few minutes and the form is in your portal.
- 2We prepare and submitWe obtain the required mandate, prepare the employer information and use the appropriate authorised route.
- 3We confirm the next stepWe send the Department result and the monthly routine in writing. If the Department needs verification, documents or personal action, we tell you.
Not sure this is the right one for you? Ask us first and you get a written answer within one business day.
Where UIF is registered, and why it matters
There are two linked obligations and people get them confused. All registered employers must submit employee returns. SARS-registered employers may submit returns online, but make UIF payments directly to SARS. Other employers may use the Fund’s payment route where it applies. ProperSA’s role is the authorised administrative preparation and submission, not collecting contributions or providing payroll services.
You can do it yourself at no cost. The Department charges nothing. People use us for structured preparation, the correct authority process and clear follow-up. See the full UIF services category for ongoing declarations, catch-up and account administration.
Frequently asked questions
Who has to register for UIF as an employer?
Every employer who pays someone for more than 24 hours a month, including households employing a domestic worker, gardener or nanny. There is no minimum salary and no minimum number of staff. One employee makes you an employer.
How long do I have to register for UIF?
As soon as you become an employer. Section 10(1) of the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act 4 of 2002 requires employers to register, and the official guidance is to do it as soon as you start employing rather than counting days. The deadline that actually bites is your first contribution, which is due monthly by the 7th. Registering late is common and the Fund will normally accept it, but contributions are still owed from the date employment started, with interest and penalties on top.
How much are UIF contributions?
Two percent of the worker's remuneration in total: one percent deducted from the worker and one percent paid by you as the employer. Contributions are calculated up to an earnings ceiling that the Minister updates from time to time, so check the current ceiling on the Department of Employment and Labour site before your first payment.
Do I register UIF with SARS or the Department of Labour?
It depends. All registered employers must submit employee returns. SARS-registered employers may submit returns online, but make UIF payments directly to SARS. This service covers the authorised Department of Employment and Labour route and the correct authority process.
What does UIF registration cost at the Department of Labour?
The Department charges nothing to register. Our R690 covers preparing the employer registration information, the first declaration routine and the appropriate authorised submission route. A Department reference is confirmed once issued.
What happens if I never register for UIF?
Your worker cannot claim if they lose the job, go on maternity leave or fall ill, and the Fund can recover unpaid contributions with interest and penalties. It also surfaces at the CCMA, where an unregistered employer starts a dispute badly.
While you are registering
Registration duties are set by the Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001 and the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act 4 of 2002; section 10(1) of the Contributions Act requires employers to register, and neither Act nor the Department’s published guidance sets a fixed number of days, so register as soon as you employ someone. The contribution rate of one percent each is set by those Acts; the earnings ceiling is adjusted by the Minister from time to time, so confirm the current figure with the Department of Employment and Labour before your first payment. This is administrative assistance, not legal or tax advice.