Class M - COIDA / WCA Tariffs of Assessment

Class M is a brand-new Class that has been added to the list of COIDA / WCA tariff assessed by the Compensation Commission and relates to domestic employees employed by private households.

While we do not have all the information as yet, we can share with you the following details:

• The bill has been passed and the Act amended, but the implementation has not yet been rolled out
• The registration of households and the roll out will definitely take place in this year.
• Householders will be given time to register, which means they may extend the registration for a few months.
• The Commissioner will announce it well in advance via media and bill boards etc.
• We have no more information regarding how the registration will work, nor on capturing of Return of Earnings or Injuries on Duty (IOD’s)
• However, we have been assured that gardeners are included as domestics, as well as child minders (nannies) and au pairs - anyone in the employment of a household.  

As soon as we have more information on Class M, we will share on our website.

Overview

The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, more commonly referred to as COIDA / WCA, offers all employees applicable compensations in the event of disablement by occupational injuries or diseases, should these have been sustained or contracted by employees in the duration of their employment.

COIDA also ensures compensation should death result from either injuries or diseases and provides for all and any matters associated herewith.

COIDA Annual Assessment

All employers must be registered with COIDA / WCA as non-compliance is considered a criminal offense. All COIDA-registered employers are also liable to pay a certain tariff once a year.

The Compensation Commissioner conducts a yearly assessment on all the COIDA-registered employers, irrelevant of the industry in which they operate. Each employer is assigned an industry class and a sub-class, of which there are 100.

The tariff payable by the employer is calculated according to the risk ratio assigned as per the nature of the employer’s business. The assessment fee is calculated by adding all employee salaries, dividing it by 100, and multiplying it by the assessment tariff.

Employers must pay their fee within 30 days of the assessment, as per Section 86.1 of COIDA.

From 2021 onwards, the tariff structure for these fees is changing. It is for this reason that the table on the page below illustrates the current rate and the rates which can be expected for the next five years. These tariffs are dependent on any changes which may occur in the risk ratio.

It is important that employers take note that this year’s assessment will be calculated as follows – the final assessment for salaries and wages for 2020 will be based on last year's tariff rates and the provisional calculations for salaries and wages for 2021 will be calculated on the new gazetted tariff rates.

The tariffs which are introduced will replace the W.AS. 178T notice and are as follow:

Table 1: Class M current and prospective tariffs

0701 – Households – Class VII

This includes all household operations and tasks as a separate business.

What does SafetyWallet do for its subscribers?

SafetyWallet offers employers across a variety of industries ample support and assistance in all components relating to Health and Safety in Industry and Commerce.

Subscribers of SafetyWallet are supplied with a wide array of health and safety services, including ensuring that clients are compliant with COIDA / WCA. SafetyWallet offers subscribers a Health and Safety training platform which offers access to various e-Learning short courses which cover the broad spectrum of health and safety.

SafetyWallet plays the role of a link between the employer and the Department of Labour where COIDA / WCA is concerned. SafetyWallet via its appointed partner MAKROSAFE help employers with the submission of relevant documents, the administration of Injuries on Duty, or IODS, as well as the submission of claim forms and the return of earnings.

There are more than 1,000 SafetyWallet subscribers across all industries in South Africa that rely on the comprehensive services that SafetyWallet offers.