E/LMS 12-18300: Unemployment Insurance Fund

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Provides funds to workers who've become unemployed.

The Unemployment Insurance Act and Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act apply to all employers and workers, but not to:

Workers working less than 24 hours a month for an employer.
Learners.
Public servants.
Foreigners working on contract.
Workers who get a monthly State (old age) pension.
Workers who only earn a commission.

Registering for UIF

Employers must register themselves and their worker(s) as soon as they employ someone.

Employers must also inform the UIF of changes (e.g. new workers appointed or changes in salary) before the 7th of every month.

Registering via Fax

If employers want to register via fax they should use the following steps:

Step 1 - Call the UIF fax line: Call the UIF fax line from your fax machine at 086 712 2000 and follow the voice prompts. Wait for the forms to be faxed to you.

Step 2 - Fill in the forms: Employers must complete the forms for both themselves and their workers. The form for the registration of workers asks for an employer reference number. Employers who do not have a reference number yet can leave this part open. The UIF will create a reference number and send it to you.

Step 3 - Fax the forms back: Fax the completed forms back to the UIF at 086 713 3000.

You may also register by phone, email or by post.

Step Making Payments Towards UIF

All employers in South Africa are by law obliged to register for UIF. A total contribution of 2% of the employee’s monthly benefits is paid into the UIF by the employer as a contribution to unemployment insurance for the worker.

The 2% is made up of:

1% of remuneration contribution paid by the employee (deducted from his pay) and

1% of remuneration contributed by the employer.

The UIF send employers the payment advice for every month. You can also get it on the website. Complete this form when you pay and send it in one of the following ways:

Mail it to:

UIF

Pretoria

0052

Fax it to:

(012) 337 1931

E-mail it to:

enquiries@uif.gov.za

Payments can be made monthly or annually – according to the arrangement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can claim from the UIF Fund? Employees who are registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and who have been contributing to the Fund can claim.

Can I claim from the UIF fund if I have resigned? No, you cannot claim if you have resigned from the job. You can only claim unemployment benefits if you have been dismissed or retrenched or if the contract has expired.

What kind of benefits is covered by the UIF?

Unemployment benefits
Illness benefits
Maternity benefits
Death benefits

When can I claim illness benefits? You can claim illness benefits if you are off for illness for a period longer than two weeks.

How does the maternity benefit work? Maternity benefits can be claimed if you are pregnant and take maternity leave. You can take maternity leave at any time from four weeks before the expected date of birth and you may not work for a period of six weeks after the birth.

How does the adoption benefit work? You can claim adoption benefits if you legally adopt a child younger than two years old and you leave work to look after the child. Only one of the adopting parents can apply for benefits.

My spouse passed away; can I claim? The wife/ husband or minor child of someone who has died can claim death benefits if the deceased contributed to the fund.

How Much Money Can Workers Claim? If you have been contributing to the Fund for four years or more, then you can claim for up to 238 days. If you have been contributing for a shorter period, then you can claim 1 day for every 6 days that you worked while you were contributing to the Fund.

If you take maternity leave, you can only claim up to 121 days.
The Fund pays a percentage of the wage/salary that you earned while you were contributing to the fund. The highest amount that can be paid is 58% of what you earned per day.

How do I Claim Unemployment Benefits? What Forms Do I Need?

If you want to claim from the Fund you need to go to your nearest Labour Centre. There you will be asked to sign the unemployment register. You will be told when you need to come back and sign the register again. You will have to sign every four weeks to show that you still need to claim the UIF benefits.

You must go back to the office and sign the register on the correct date. If you are ill, you must take a doctor's certificate with you to the Labour Centre.

You will be given a white card, which the UIF officer will sign each time you sign the register.

If everything is in order, you should start getting money from the Fund within eight weeks of registering. The money will then be paid every four weeks until all the benefits are used up.

If you don't receive your money in eight weeks, you should phone the Labour Centre and ask them to find out why there is a delay. Remember to have your name and ID number ready.

You will receive a slip every time you receive money so that you can see how much you have received and how much you can still get.

To claim unemployment benefits you need to have:

A copy of a 13-digit bar-coded identity document
A copy of your last six payslips
Information supplied by your employer (UI19)
A service certificate from the employer
Proof of registration as a Work seeker
A fully completed registration form.

If you want to receive unemployment benefits you need to be prepared to:

Go for training or career counselling if the UIF officer asks you to.
Be available for work. If you are offered work, you need to be ready to work.
Go to different companies to ask for work. You will get a form that needs to be signed showing that you have looked for work and that there are no jobs available.

You need to collect your unemployment benefits from the Labour Centre on the date they said the money will be there. You have to collect the money yourself and you must have your white card and ID book with you.

How do I claim other UIF benefits?

There are different procedures for claiming the various benefits available:

Illness benefits
Maternity benefits
Adoption benefits
Death benefits

Claiming Maternity Benefits

To claim maternity benefits, you need to register at the Labour Office and get a medical certificate on the correct form from your doctor.

To register you will need:

A copy of the 13-digit bar-coded identity document
Copies of your last 6 payslips
Information supplied by your employer (ui19)
A service certificate from the employer
Proof of your banking details
A statement of the amount received from the employer during maternity
Leave
A fully completed registration form.

When you register, you will be given Form UF92. This form must complete by your doctor. You then submit this form to the UIF claims officer at the Labour Office.

The claim will be paid by cheque which will be posted to you.

To apply for benefits after the baby is born, you need to complete Form UF95 with help from the doctor who delivered the baby.

If you are also unemployed, then you must notify the claims officer.

Claiming Illness Benefits

To apply for illness benefits, you need to register at the Labour Centre nearest to you. If you are too ill to go to the office yourself, a friend or family member can get the form from the office and bring it to you to sign. The signed form then needs to be returned to the Labour Office.

You will need:

A copy of your bar-coded identity document
Copies of your last 6 payslips
Information supplied by your employer (UF19)
A service certificate from the employer
Proof of banking details
A statement of the amount received from your employer during the period of the illness
A fully completed registration form.

You also need to submit a medical certificate (Form UF86) from your doctor. You need to get your doctor to complete the appropriate section of Form UF86 and then submit this to the UIF claims officer at the Labour Centre. The Department of Labour will consider the application and post Form UF87 to you. You need to complete this form and your doctor needs to sign it. You then submit this form to the claims officer as well.

You will be paid benefits for the time that the doctor has booked you off work but not for the first 2 weeks off work. You will also only be paid for the time that you have not received normal wages from your employer.

Illness benefits will be paid to you by cheque and posted to you.

Remember, you cannot claim illness benefits if your illness was caused by your own misconduct or if you unreasonably refuse treatment or fail to follow the doctor's instructions.

If you have lost your job as well as are too ill to work, you need to inform the claims officer of this because you might also be able to claim unemployment benefits for the period not covered by the illness benefits.

Claiming Death Benefits

The husband or wife of the deceased worker and any minor children of the worker can claim death benefits from the UIF.

You must apply for these benefits within six months of the death of the worker.

If you were the husband or wife of the deceased worker, you need to go to the Labour Centre and fill in Form UF126. You will need to have:

Your identity document
Copies of the deceased's last six payslips
The employer's details on form UI19
A certified copy of the death certificate
A certified copy of your marriage certificate
A service certificate from the employer
Proof of your banking details.
If you are the child of the deceased worker, you can claim by completing Form UF127 and submitting it at the Labour Centre. You will need:
A copy of your identity document
Copies of the last six payslips of the deceased
Information supplied by the employer on form UI19
A service certificate from the employer
A certificate copy of your (the child's) birth certificate
Proof of your banking details
A certified copy of the death certificate
Proof of guardianship
Proof that you (the child) are a learner who was dependent on the
Deceased.

The Labour Office will give you Form UF128, which needs to be completed by the deceased's last employer and then submitted at the Labour Centre.

The death benefit is the amount that the worker could have claimed if they were unemployed. This is paid out in one payment.

Klik hier om meer te leer oor die werkloosheids versekerings fonds.

Click on the link below to open the resource.

Handout 4F 12300 Unemployed Insurance Act

Click here to view an explanation of the Unemployment Insurance Fund Act.