Unemployment Insurance Fund Extends Operating Hours For Client, Employer Services

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) announced on Wednesday that will extend operating hours by opening selected service points on Saturdays throughout September to help clients and employers.

The Department of Employment and Labour explained that this decision was made because of the expected higher demand for services. This follows an interim court order from the Pretoria High Court at the end of August 2024, which blocked a service provider from starting a new contract for support and maintenance of the uFiling platform.

uFiling is an online platform that clients and employers use to apply for UIF benefits, register companies, declare employees, and pay contributions to the UIF. However, this platform is separate from the main UIF system that handles and processes claims.

"Due to the uFiling platform not having any support or maintenance at this time, its services was suspended. The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has since the suspension of uFiling processed more than 181,000 claims at service points around the country, totaling a pay out of R419,607,185," the department said, SA News reported.

Throughout September, UIF service points at labor centers will have extended hours from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The locations with these extended hours include:

• Gqeberha, East London, and Qonce in the Eastern Cape.
• Pietermaritzburg and Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal.
• Emalahleni, Secunda, Middleburg, Malelane, and Mbombela in Mpumalanga.
• Mahikeng, Potchefstroom, Lichtenburg, Klerksdorp, Vryburg, Christiana, Brits, Taung, and Rustenburg in the North West.
• Cape Town, Paarl, Mitchells Plain, and Bellville in the Western Cape.

New employer registrations can be completed on BizPortal. The department noted that BizPortal is only for registering employers and cannot be used for employee registration. For registering employees, clients should visit a nearby labor center.

Moreover, employers can download the UI.8 and UI.19 forms from www.labour.gov.za, fill them out, and email them to newui8registrations@labour.gov.za.

"UIF contributions are made up of 2% of an employee's salary. 1% is deducted from the salary of an employee and 1% contributed by the employer," the department said. "Employers who are registered for tax purposes and/or the Skills Development Levy (SDL), must pay their contributions directly to the South African Revenue Services (SARS)."

The department said that employers must pay UIF contributions by the 7th of each month. If the 7th is a weekend or public holiday, payments should be made by the last business day before the 7th.