Practical money guides for South Africans
N N UIF covers more than job loss and maternity. If you’re off work sick for an extended period, if you’ve legally adopted a young child, or if a contributor has died and left dependants behind, there are separate UIF benefits for each. Illness benefits kick in once your unpaid sick leave passes two weeks. Adoption benefits … Read more
If a domestic worker works more than 24 hours a month for you, whether they clean, cook, garden, or provide childcare, you’re legally required to register them for UIF. It doesn’t matter if you’re a company or just a household employing one person. The Department of Employment and Labour has been direct about this: “It’s … Read more
The UI-19 is the form your employer completes when your job ends, and it’s what proves to UIF why you’re unemployed. Without it, your claim generally doesn’t move forward. Your employer must complete and sign it, free of charge, when your employment ends, whether that’s retrenchment, dismissal, resignation, or a contract expiring. If your employer … Read more
UIF maternity benefits pay a flat 66% of your capped salary, tax-free, for up to 121 days, roughly four months. You apply once your maternity leave starts and you stop getting your full salary, not before. The legal deadline is six months after the birth, but apply as early as you can once your pay … Read more
If you resigned voluntarily, you generally cannot claim UIF unemployment benefits. If you were retrenched, dismissed for any reason including misconduct, or your fixed-term contract simply ended, you generally can. The one exception for resignation is constructive dismissal, where the CCMA agrees you were effectively forced out. UIF isn’t judging whether you deserved to lose … Read more
You can check your UIF status three ways: log in to UIF Online at uifonline.labour.gov.za, dial 134843# for a free USSD check, or call the UIF Call Centre on 0800 030 007. All three show the same underlying claim, so use whichever is easiest to reach right now. If you claimed before 20 May 2026 on … Read more
UIF pays between 38% and 60% of your capped monthly salary, for as many days as you’ve earned in credit. The cap is R17 712 a month, so even high earners are calculated as if they earn R17 712. Lower earners get the higher percentage. You earn one day of benefit for every four days … Read more
If you already submitted a UIF claim through uFiling, your application was not lost. The Department of Employment and Labour closed uFiling to new employee claims on 20 May 2026, but everything submitted before that date was saved and is being moved into the new system. If you’re trying to submit a new claim now, … Read more
There’s no single fixed number, and any calendar promising exact payment dates is guessing. What UIF does publish is this: once your file is complete and assigned to an assessor, unemployment claims get a decision within 15 working days and maternity claims within 5 working days. Add the time it takes to get assigned in … Read more
You claim UIF through UIF Online at uifonline.labour.gov.za, not through uFiling. uFiling stopped taking employee benefit claims on 20 May 2026, though the site is still live and still accepts applications that go nowhere. On UIF Online you register or log in, pick your benefit type, upload your ID, UI-19 form and banking details, then … Read more