Domestic employers have until next
Monday (Jan 7) to submit the new details of their workers in line with
the latest stipulated wage increases, the Unemployment Insurance Fund
(UIF) warned today.
As of December 01, 2007, domestic
workers’ wages went up by 9.3 percent from R1066.83 to R1166.05 per
month for employees working for more than 27 hours per week in higher
paid areas or urban areas, while those in rural areas now earn R946.04
from the previous R865.54 per month.
In terms of the Unemployment Insurance
Act, any payment due to a domestic worker in the event of a claim for
unemployment, illness, maternity, adoption or death benefit is
determined by the last salary received by the particular worker.
The applicable two percent
contributions in line with the new minimum wage are R23, 32 for urban
areas and R18, 92 for rural areas.
Explaining the upcoming deadline, UIF
spokesperson Kgomotso Sebetso today warned that the more than 550 000
currently registered employers were obliged to forward new details of
UIF contributions within 7 days after December.
Sebetso said a failure to heed the
deadline would not only be breaking the law, but would also be cheating
on and putting the worker at a disadvantage.
“The deadline to submit the new
information is close of business on Monday, January 07, 2008 and
employers who fail to submit the new details will have to face the
music,” he said.
He said employers were also obliged by
law to register with the UIF. He warned that failure to submit new
details or to register with the UIF is punishable by either a fine or
imprisonment or both.
Employers can make use of the
existing online collection channel – the uFiling system – which is
specially created for the sector and is accessed on www.ufiling.gov.za to provide
domestic employers with a secure, convenient way of paying
contributions and making declarations to the Fund.
For further assistance employers could
visit the nearest labour centre or the website of the Department of
Labour at www.labour.gov.za or dial the UIF
Call Centre at (012) 337 1680.
