Pay and rights at work · 6 min read
How to claim UIF online in 2026: steps, documents and how much you will get
Claim on uFiling within 12 months of losing your job. If you earned R12,000 a month, UIF pays about R160.31 a day. On the Department's count, one year of work gives you about 91 days of credits.
To claim unemployment benefits, register on the Department of Employment and Labour's uFiling site with your 13 digit ID, an email address and a cell number, then apply with the forms your employer gives you. If you can't claim online, go to a Labour Centre. You can claim if your employer ended your job or your contract ran out, but generally not if you resigned. There's no fee: nobody should charge you to claim UIF. The figures come from the Department's booklet Know Your UIF Rights, published in 2022 and the latest version we found.
How much UIF will I get?
You get a share of your pay, from 38% to 60%, and the share falls as your pay rises. The sum uses your average pay for the last 6 months, capped at R17,712 a month. Here's the booklet's formula, worked for some common salaries:
R5,894.40 a month: R193.79 daily income, 46.01%, R89.17 a day R8,000 a month: R263.01 daily income, 43.67%, R114.85 a day R12,000 a month: R394.52 daily income, 40.63%, R160.31 a day R17,712 or more: R582.31 daily income, 38%, R221.28 a day Daily income = monthly pay x 12 / 365 Rate = 29.2 + 7173.92 / (232.92 + daily income) Benefit = daily income x rate
The booklet gives the R17,712 row itself. The other rows are our sums from its formula.
Your total is the daily benefit times your credit days. The booklet says you earn one credit for every four days you work as a contributor, up to 365 credits, and that it takes four years to get all 365. So a year of work gives you about 91 credits. On R12,000 a month that's 91 x R160.31, about R14,588 in total. After 182 days of work you'd have 45 credits, which is about R7,214. These totals are our sums, not promises, and what you're paid depends on your own record.
Two things in the law make us careful here. The Unemployment Insurance Amendment Act of 2016 says one credit for every five completed days, while the Department's later booklet says four, so your credits could come out lower. The Act also says the first 238 days of benefit are paid at the rate above, and any credits after that at a flat rate of 20. So don't work out a long claim as 365 days at the full rate: ask a Labour Centre what your later days pay.
Can I claim if I resigned?
Generally no. The booklet says benefits aren't payable if you resign or abscond, unless you can prove constructive dismissal at the CCMA. You can claim if your employer ended your job, or your contract expired. If you took voluntary severance or early retirement, you'll need an extra form, the UI 2.11.
UIF also doesn't cover everyone. SARS lists people who work under 24 hours a month for an employer, and national or provincial government employees, as not covered. The booklet says contributing foreign nationals do qualify.
What do I need before I start?
Get these ready first. Your employer completes the forms, not you, and the booklet says the bank completes the banking form.
- Your 13 digit South African ID, or a valid foreign passport, ID card, asylum seeker or refugee document
- An email address and a cell number: uFiling needs both
- A UI-19 from your employer, which is its declaration about you
- A salary schedule from your employer
- A UI-2.8 banking details form, completed by your bank
- Proof that you registered as a work seeker with the Department of Employment and Labour
How do I claim on uFiling, step by step?
- Go to ufiling.labour.gov.za/uif and choose Register, then register as an employee with your ID, email and cell number
- Log in and start an Application for Benefits, choosing Unemployment
- Check your employer's details on the screen. If none show, take your completed UI-19 and salary schedule to a Labour Centre
- Upload or enter your documents and submit, then keep your reference number
- Check progress under Application history
- Send in your continuation form, the UI 6A, each month as you're told to, so that the payments keep coming
The menu names on uFiling can change, so go by what the screen says. If your account locks, the booklet says to email [email protected] with your full details. The help line is 0800 030 007, weekdays from 07:30 to 16:00.
Parental and dependants' claims can't be made online: go to a Labour Centre for those.
How long does UIF take?
The booklet gives a target of 15 working days to approve or reject a claim. It also says payment will be made 30 days from the date your job ended, and you'll get a date to sign for the next payment. These are the Department's stated aims from 2022, not a promise. If your claim is rejected, you can appeal online or at the Labour Centre on a UI-12 form.
Don't leave it until the deadline. The 2016 amendment to the Act moved it from 6 months to 12 months after your job ended, and the 2022 booklet says 12 too. An older Department leaflet still says 6, so if you're inside 12 months, apply anyway.
What about maternity, illness and parental leave?
Maternity, illness and adoption claims can also be made on uFiling. The booklet gives a flat 66% of your income, capped at R17,712 a month, as a top up to what your employer pays. Maternity runs up to 121 days, and you must claim before the birth, or within 12 months after it. For illness, apply within 6 months of stopping work, with a doctor's certificate.
Parental leave rules are changing. The Constitutional Court gave a judgment on parental leave in October 2025, in Van Wyk v Minister of Employment and Labour, [2025] ZACC 20. We couldn't open the order to check it, so we give no numbers from it here. Ask a Labour Centre how it affects your claim.
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Frequently asked questions
How much UIF will I get if I worked for a year?
About 91 credit days. On R12,000 a month that's about R14,588 in total, at R160.31 a day. On R8,000 a month it's about R10,451, at R114.85 a day.
How long do I have to claim UIF?
12 months from the day your job ended. That's in the Act, as amended in 2016, and in the 2022 booklet. An older leaflet still says 6 months, so don't be put off by it, and apply right away.
Can I claim UIF if I still earn some money?
Tell the Labour Centre about any income you have. The booklet says you can be suspended from benefits if you work and collect them at the same time. It has a separate benefit for people whose hours were cut.
My employer won't give me a UI-19. What do I do?
Ask in writing, then go to a Labour Centre with what you have. The booklet says to visit your nearest centre if your employer no longer exists, too.
Does an agent have to help me claim?
No. You can do it yourself on uFiling or at a Labour Centre for free. Don't give anyone your uFiling password.