It’s been a busy few months for South Africa’s Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). The UIF generally provides financial assistance to South Africans who cannot keep working due to circumstances outside of their control, like suffering from severe illness or taking parental leave. However, since the coronavirus outbreak in 2020 and the subsequent lockdown, the UIF has dealt with an unprecedented number of requests.
With the UIF having been required to expand their services to also deal with Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) matters in addition to their usual claims, it’s understandable that claims can take a long time to process. But what should you do if you’re eagerly waiting on information about the status of your particular UIF claim? Where can you find more info regarding when you can expect your UIF payments?
Do you qualify for a payout based on your current UIF status?
It’s important to note that you, as an individual, don’t register yourself for UIF. This is your employer’s responsibility, and if you’ve been registered for UIF, you will see an amount being deducted from your payslip to go towards UIF each month. To qualify for the benefit, employees are required to contribute 1% of their salaries to UIF, while employers are also liable for 1%. Those who have not been contributing will not qualify for the benefit. So it’s always a good idea to scrutinise your payslip and see whether your company has indeed registered you.
How to actually see the status of your UIF claim
Luckily you no longer need to go into the actual UIF offices and stand in line to see whether your claim is being processed! All you need to do is visit www.ufiling.co.za, where you can log in and then click on “My Status”. Then you simply follow the on-screen instructions to see where you are in the process. You will need to enter a Captcha number for security reasons, and you will also be required to enter your UIF reference number. If you haven’t registered with uFiling yet, you will have to do so first.
Alternatively, suppose you prefer not to register a profile with uFiling. In that case, you can also take a more old-fashioned approach and send through an email requesting information about your UIF claim status. Remember that you will have to include your name, ID number, and UIF registration number in your email body. Can send Emails to BCP@labour.gov.za.
It’s been eight weeks, and you still haven’t received your UIF payments.
It’s important to keep in mind that there have been an unusual amount of claims filed in recent months. If you’ve met all the requirements and qualify for a UIF payment, you will eventually receive it. Your patience will pay off! However, if you have been waiting for more than eight weeks, it’s a good idea to make a call to your local Labour Centre. You can find a list of the different centres’ contact details here. If you’re enquiring specifically about the pandemic benefit, you can phone the UIF hotline 012 337 1997 dedicated specifically to dealing with these particular enquiries. Here you will be able to make inquiries about the delay in payment.
Rest assured that when the UIF make a payment to you, they will issue you with a slip detailing how much you’ve received and how much you can still expect.