COIDA Return of Earnings

What is Return of Earnings (ROE) and why do I have to submit it to Workman’s Compensation Fund?

All Employees are required by Law to do their COIDA Registration within 7 working days of employment of their first employee. There after, every year on the 31st of March, employers (this includes contractors) are required to submit a Return of Earnings stating the total wage/salary expenditure between March of the former year and February.

The fund then reviews the Return of Earnings and stipulates the amount payable in a Notice of Assessment.

That means you’ll be paying annual assessment fees to the Workman’s Compensation Fund.

Paying your assessment fee will enable you to apply for a COIDA Letter of Good Standing, which is a requirement for Tenders. 

We can assist with your COIDA Return of Earnings – contact us toll free on 0800 007 269.

Annual assessment fees/tariffs are the yearly fees any employer has to contribute to the Compensation Fund based on the earnings of his or her employees. This annual amount is also influenced by the type of work these employees do.

Certain professions have a higher risk of occupational injury, death or harm, so the annual contributions will be higher for high-risk versus low-risk employees.

Every year the total cost of the employee-salaries will be reviewed – along with the professions to determine a fair contribution the employer needs to submit to the fund to safeguards his or her employees.

There are a few things that could happen depending on how and why you don’t pay the Compensation Fund as an employer. Here they are (plus their correlating legislation):

• Submitting your ROE late: you’ll get a penalty – (Sect 83(2) – 10%)
• Not submitting your ROE at all: you will still get an estimated payment that’s based on an estimate – (Sect 83(6)(a)
• Not paying your assessment: you’ll get a penalty (Sect 87(1) – 10%)
  • You’ll also pay interest on your assessment late payments according to the prevailing prime rate
• Reporting incidents late: you’ll get a penalty
• Not being registered at the Compensation Fund: you’ll get a penalty as soon as an employee, or his or her dependents, claims for an accident/death – (Sect 87(2)(a))
  • In this case, if you don’t provide a fair provision for your employee, or his or her dependents, in the case of a work-related incident you’ll be guilty an offence – Sect 81(3)

The amount payable to the Compensation Fund is called assessments. Do you have to pay the full amount or can you divide it into instalments? Here are the rules:

• You have to make your first payment to the Compensation Fund within 30 days after getting the Notice of Assessment (you get this notice after registering with the fund, submitting your Return of Earnings – your total wage expenses).
• You have to pay at least 20% before asking to pay the rest of the payable amount in monthly instalments.
• If you miss a payment, the full amount is due immediately thereafter.

We can assist with your COIDA assessments – contact us toll free on 0800 007 269.

When you pay your Return of Earnings, then you can renew your COIDA Letter of Good Standing. A valid Letter of Good Standing is a requirement for tender applications and it also proves that your employees are covered in the event of injury or death.