The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) was established to provide workers for short term financial relief to contributors of the fund.
If you have been employed for more than 24 hours per month, you are required by law to register with the UIF. It is therefore compulsory for you to make contributions to the fund.
Each month, 2% of your gross salary must be contributed to the fund. Your employer pays 1% and the remaining 1% is deducted from your salary.
The UIF offers short term relief benefits for a number of factors that may prevent you from working. For example, an employee may claim maternity benefits for a period of 17.32 weeks. This fund will pay these benefits if you're a contributor to the fund.
These include
- Maternity Benefits
- Unemployment Benefits
- illness Benefits
- Adoption Benefits
- Benefits to Dependents of Deceased Contributors
The UIF uses a credit system where for every four days you work, you will receive a credit for one day. The UIF credits can grow to a maximum of 365 credits. The credit is used when you claim UIF benefits, and once you exhaust the credits you have accumulated, you will no longer receive relief.
