The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is a fund that provides temporary relief to employees that have been put out of work. When an employee is earning a regular income under a company, their salary will feature a deduction that contributes to their UIF credit, which they will later be able to claim if they become unemployed under a set of circumstances.
These circumstances include that the employee be:
- On Illness leave
- On Maternity leave
- On Adoption leave
- On Parental leave
Recently deceased employees’ UIF claim can also be used for temporary relief of their dependents, whilst employees who have had their work hours cut can also receive UIF benefits. Nonetheless, a claim cannot be made in the case that a former employee is suspended, or chooses to resign.
However, if you do not qualify for a UIF claim under the normal standards, and you believe that you should be able to, you may revert your issue to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). Though, this does not ensure that you will be given the opportunity to claim.
In order to claim from the UIF, you would have to do so online via the UIF’s uFiling system within six months after you become unemployed. The registration of your claim might take up to eight weeks, but once your claim is approved and you have submitted a payment request form, you should receive the first payment within 2-4 days.
A claimant’s benefits are entirely dependent on the amount of credit they have accumulated during their career. However, relief can only be taken for up to 12 years, granted that the claimant has enough funds to last until then.
Though much of the UIF claims can be made online, the UIF does not take death benefits or reduced work time benefits online. For these, you would have to send a ui-2.8 claim form to the email: [email protected].
