If you employ staff in South Africa, 30 June 2026 is one of the most overlooked compliance deadlines on the calendar. The Return of Earnings (ROE) is your annual declaration to the Compensation Commissioner under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA). Miss it, and your employees lose their cover for workplace injuries. You also face penalties and interest. At Sikatrix, we file ROEs for clients across Alberton, Johannesburg, and Gauteng every year. This guide covers what the ROE is, how to calculate it, how to submit it, and what happens if you miss the deadline.
What Is the Return of Earnings?
The Return of Earnings (form W.As.8) is your declaration to the Compensation Fund of the total earnings paid to your employees during the previous assessment year, which runs from 1 March to the last day of February. The Compensation Commissioner uses this figure to calculate your annual COIDA assessment, the premium that funds workplace injury and disease compensation for workers.
Every registered employer must submit annually, regardless of business size. A two-person business has the same obligation as a 200-person one. The submission is the basis on which your assessment is raised, so the figure you declare directly determines what you pay.
Who Needs to Submit?
Anyone registered with the Compensation Fund who has one or more workers must file. This includes:
- –Private companies and close corporations
- –Sole traders who employ staff
- –NPCs and NGOs that employ staff
- –Schools, clinics, and professional practices
- –Construction companies and contractors
If you employ people and you are registered with the Fund, the obligation applies to you. If you employ people and you are not yet registered, that is a separate gap you need to close, and we cover it below.
How to Calculate Your Earnings Figure
Your declaration is the total gross earnings paid to employees during the assessment year, subject to an annual ceiling of R596,524 per employee for 2025/26. Earnings above that ceiling per employee are excluded from the calculation.
Include in the figure:
- –Basic salaries and wages
- –Overtime
- –Bonuses
- –Commission
- –Allowances such as housing and travel
- –Leave pay
Exclude from the figure:
- –Reimbursements for actual business expenses
- –Any earnings above the per-employee ceiling
Getting this figure right matters. Overstating it inflates your assessment. Understating it creates a discrepancy the Fund can later correct, with penalties.
How to Submit the ROE
The submission is done online through the Compensation Fund's CompEasy system. The sequence is:
- –Log in at cfregistration.labour.gov.za
- –Select the Annual Return of Earnings
- –Enter your earnings figure per category for the assessment year
- –Submit the return and save your confirmation number
- –Wait for the assessment notice the Fund raises from your declaration
- –Pay the assessment within 30 days of the notice
Keep the confirmation number and a copy of the submitted return. If a query arises later, that record is your proof that you filed on time.
What Happens If You Miss the 30 June Deadline?
Late submission carries a 10% penalty on the assessment amount, plus interest. More seriously, your COIDA cover lapses while you are not compliant. If an employee is injured at work during a lapse, the Compensation Fund can decline the claim, and personal liability falls on the employer. That means the employer can be held responsible for medical costs and disability compensation directly.
For a small business without reserves, an uncovered workplace injury claim is a genuine financial risk that can threaten the business itself. The penalty is the smaller part of the problem. The loss of cover is the real exposure.
What If You Have Never Filed a ROE?
This is more common among small employers than people assume. When no return is filed, the Fund estimates your earnings and raises assessments on that estimate, adding penalties on top. The longer it runs, the larger the accumulated liability.
The practical route out is to:
- –Reconstruct your payroll records for the outstanding periods
- –File the late returns with a covering letter explaining the position
- –Engage the Fund directly to resolve the estimated assessments and penalties
This is recoverable, but it is far easier with someone who handles Compensation Fund correspondence regularly. Sikatrix handles late ROE filings and Compensation Fund compliance remediation, including reconstructing the records needed to file correctly.
Sikatrix Can File Your ROE
We handle COIDA registrations, annual ROE submissions, and Compensation Fund queries for SME clients in Alberton, Johannesburg, and across Gauteng. If your deadline is tight or you have fallen behind, book a free consultation and we will take it from there.
Daniel Amoah is a Professional Accountant (SA), SAIPA #45969 and SARS Registered Tax Practitioner PR-0104889 at Sikatrix Business Accountants, Alberton.
