Unemployment Insurance Fund urges employers to pay contributions and declare their workers

Banner of the National Department of Labour together with the South African flag

09 November 2022

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has stressed the importance of employers paying UIF contributions and declaring their workers to the Fund every month, as required by law.

Speaking at an employer advocacy session today, 8 November 2022, in Rustenburg, North West, UIF Deputy Director: Compliance, Siphamandla Gumede, said the majority of normal benefit claims such as Unemployment and Maternity get delayed due to a lack of up-to-date declarations and contributions by employers.

Gumede informed employers that the monthly UIF contribution is made up of 1% deducted from the salary of the worker and 1% contribution by the employer. “The employer is required to pay the total contribution of 2% of the worker’s salary to the Fund by the 7th day of each month. Failure to comply leads to the employer being charged penalties and interests,” he said.

Gumede also implored employers to declare their workers to the Fund monthly. “Declarations are very significant because we need to know who are your workers, when did they start working, and how much are they earning on a monthly basis, so we can update our database. We also need the declarations to calculate the normal benefit payments that are due to the client in the event of a claim,” he explained.

Business owners can easily declare on the following platforms:

https://ufiling.labour.gov.za/uif/

https://uifecc.labour.gov.za/covid19/

or manually at any labour centre.

Employers were also advised to report any UIF officials soliciting bribes.

“We have a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to fraud and corruption. All UIF services are free and we urge employers to report any official who requests a bribe to law enforcement agencies and the Departmental Fraud Hotline on 086 002 2194 or the Fund on 080 060 1148 or the nearest Labour Centre Manager,” said Deputy Director: Risk, Anti-Corruption and Integrity Management, Bernice Matlhako.

The session also heard that the Department of Employment and Labour has inspectors that visit workplaces to check if employers registered their workers with the Fund and pay contributions.

“If the employer fails to comply, we are obliged to issue an undertaking or compliance order which requires the employer to comply. However, if 14 days pass without the employer making some effort to comply, the matter is referred to the labour court for prosecution. Therefore, we encourage workers to report any non-compliance with the UIF laws to inspectors at any labour centre,” said Boitumelo Moeng from the Department’s Inspection and Enforcement Services.

The session was held to educate and engage employers about the UIF's systems, benefits, services, processes, and compliance with applicable legislation. It also addressed issues that employers face with the UIF.

The next employer session will be led by the UIF Commissioner, Teboho Maruping, on Friday, 18 November 2022, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Media enquiries:

Botsang Huma

Provincial Communications Officer: North West

082 497 7438/ Botsang.Huma@labour.gov.za

-ENDS-

Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour