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Thread: UIF FOR CAREGIVERS

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    UIF FOR CAREGIVERS

    For 3 years I have had an outstanding Caregiver for my ailing very old husband. We have always paid her far in excess of the basic minimum wage as laid down. I have also saved (not from her salary, but as a form of insurance which comes from me personally) 5% of her monthly salary, for when her services will no longer be required. I do believe that I should have registered her when I employed her, and my question is this: am I laying myself open to prosecution by the UIF people? Our Caregiver is more than happy with the deal we struck, as she will be receiving more this way, than she would have, had she claimed from UIF - and without all the fuss and bother. Comments will be appreciated.

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    KristiKat (06-Mar-14)

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    Bronze Member KristiKat's Avatar
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    Was it a verbal agreement?

    Did you open a separate bank account for her to safe that monies in?

    If you can prove there is an agreement in that regard, then you won't get into trouble.

    You can only get into trouble when your "caregiver" goes an complain at the Labour Law Department, but it does not seem that she is that kind of person especially if she is getting more than the UIF which is only but 1%: in terms of UIF regulations a worker should contribute 1% of his/ her monthly remuneration. In addition to the 1% that is paid by the worker, the employer also contributes 1% his/her employment.

    Furthermore I do not see that you are an employer of a huge company with hundreds of employees - if that was the case then you could get into trouble WITH the TAX Masters.
    “Curiousity is the discovery of satan, the devil was hidden and far, now he stares everyone in the face.” ― Michael Bassey Johnson There is evil! It's actual, like cement... I can't believe it. I can't stand it. Evil is not a view... it's an ingredient in us. In the world. Poured over us, filtering into our bodies, minds, hearts, into the pavement itself.

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    Thanks very much KristiKat. The money is not in an account in her name, but she opened an account on Wednesday and I am now moving the money in, week by week, as the time is not far off when she will no longer have her job with us. We have a verbal agreement, and yes you are right, she is not the type of person who will lodge a complaint. And as you point out, this is a better deal for her. I shall simply "let sleeping dogs lie". Have a good day!

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    Platinum Member sterne.law@gmail.com's Avatar
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    Even if there is an agreement, written or oral, parties can not contract outside of the law.
    UIF is a statutory deduction which an employer must deduct and pay over.
    UIF is an insurance, people contribute even though they may or may not use the insurance.
    However, your trust find type saving gives you some plausible deniability and probably the let sleeping dogs lie will work out well in the end.
    Anthony Sterne

    www.acumenholdings.co.za
    DISCLAIMER The above is merely a comment in discussion form and an open public arena. It does not constitute a legal opinion or professional advice in any manner or form.

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    KristiKat (08-Mar-14)

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    First off you have to establish if the caregiver is an employee or an independent contractor

    If she is an independent contractor, then you don't have to pay UIF and PAYE TAXES for her.

    Penalties for not registering someone as an employee can get you a fine of R 5 000.00 or jail time not exceeding 5 years

    the sterne member makes a good point - that you cannot conclude a contract outside of the law,

    yet YOU ARE GIVING HER a "fund" that by far exceeds to what she is entitled to in terms of labour law whether she is seen as an employee or independent contractor or not.

    The main purpose of LABOUR LAW is to give the employee some form of protection after their employment contract is terminated - you did that.

    In my opinion, if she knows what is GOOD for her, she WON'T go and lay a complaint, since she is GETTING FAR MORE than what she entitled to in terms of labour law as already said,

    otherwise she would get herself and you as her employer into trouble with the law making it seem as if you and her both want to circumvent or bypass the LABOUR LAW LEGISLATIONS by giving her money for "unemployment" than what she deserves,

    and would forfeit her benefits that she could have had, be it the UIF or the independent fund you provided for.

    because it would mean that IF YOU CONTRACTED outside of the law, as sterne said, that there WAS NO LEGAL CONTRACT to begin with,

    and then the caregiver should never have been seen as an employee in the first place and UIF penalties DO NOT APPLY TO YOU,

    as the contract was NULL AND VOID from the beginning.

    you have an UNDERSTANDING, keep it that way, no need to get the labour system mixed up in it...because the employee won't benefit from it and you won't be held responsible in terms of a CONTRACT that was ab initio (from the start) null and void.
    “Curiousity is the discovery of satan, the devil was hidden and far, now he stares everyone in the face.” ― Michael Bassey Johnson There is evil! It's actual, like cement... I can't believe it. I can't stand it. Evil is not a view... it's an ingredient in us. In the world. Poured over us, filtering into our bodies, minds, hearts, into the pavement itself.

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    Thank you both, Kristikat and Sterne.law for your very valuable input. I've learnt something new today!

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