Who can claim UIF in South Africa? UIF Benefits
UIF Claims
The following information is for unemployment UIF benefits only.
We have a separate post about Maternity UIF benefits. And we will have posts up soon for the other types of UIF including for illness, adoption and dependants (death).
Who can claim UIF?
You can only claim UIF if you (and your employer) have been paying UIF.
All workers and employers should pay UIF except:
- Those working less than 24 hours a month for an employer
- Learners
- Public Servants
- Foreigners working on a contract who will be repatriated upon completion of their contract
- Workers who only earn commission
You can claim UIF if:
- Your employers are bankrupt
- Your contract ends
- You are fired
Domestic workers can also claim if:
- They work for more than one employer, and they lose their job at one of those employers
- Their employer dies
You cannot claim UIF if you:
- Benefit from the Compensation Fund
- Benefit from an unemployment fund under the LRA
- Are suspended from claiming due to fraud
- Quit your job
- Do not report at set days and times
- Refuse training and advice
In order to claim, you also need to register as a work-seeker, and be available for work.
The UIF may stop paying you benefits if you refuse to:
- Accept a job
- Go for training
- Go for advice
When to claim UIF?
You need to claim within 6 months after you stopped working.
How much UIF can I claim?
If you have been a UIF contributor for more than 4 years, you can claim for up to 238 days, or 8 months.
If you have been working (and contributing) for a shorter period, then you can claim one day for every six days worked.
If you manage to find a job, you are no longer eligible to recieve UIF.
The fund pays a percentage of your wage / salary while you were contributing. This can be a maximum of 58% and is on a sliding scale depending on how much you were earning.
If your average salary over the last four years is less than R12,478, then you would receive 36 – 56% of your average salary. If you earned more than R12,478, then you will receive a fixed amount of between R4250 – R4550 per month.
