Who qualifies for UIF maternity benefits
If you pay into the Unemployment Insurance Fund through your job, you can claim UIF maternity benefits while you’re on maternity leave and earning less than your normal pay. You don’t need to have lost your job. You just need to be a contributor who is off work to give birth.
To qualify, you must meet a few conditions. The worker must have been employed for at least 13 weeks before the date of application for maternity benefits. The contributor must be receiving less than the normal remuneration whilst on maternity leave. Your employer also has to confirm your situation: the employer must also declare as to whether the worker on maternity leave will be obtaining full or any remuneration whilst on leave.
Timing matters too. You also have to apply for maternity benefits before your child is born or within 12 months of the birth. The benefit isn’t only for a live birth that goes to term. Maternity benefits are paid for a maximum of 121 days, which includes miscarriage and stillbirth.
Claiming maternity benefits now doesn’t cost you later. Application for maternity benefits does not affect the contributor’s rights to Unemployment benefits, meaning the worker may still qualify to receive Unemployment benefits should the worker become unemployed.
How much you get
The UIF pays maternity benefits at a set rate, not on the sliding scale used for ordinary unemployment claims. Benefits are payable at a flat rate of 66% to a female contributor for confinement or the period after birth of a child.
How that 66% actually lands in your account depends on what your employer is paying you at the same time. Benefits that are payable is the difference between what the employer pays and the rate that is prescribed in the benefit schedule of the Unemployment Insurance Act. There’s a cap on the combined total. When taking into account the amount paid by the employer and the amount prescribed in the benefit schedule, the total amount received should not exceed 100% of the normal remuneration that the person would have received if she remained in employment.
In practice this works out three ways:
- If your employer pays you nothing while you’re on maternity leave, the UIF pays you the flat 66% of your UIF-insured remuneration.
- If your employer pays you a partial salary, the UIF tops that up so the two together don’t exceed your normal pay.
- If your employer pays your full salary, you generally have nothing left to claim from the UIF, because you aren’t “receiving less than the normal remuneration”.
The 66% is calculated on your UIF-insured remuneration, which is capped at the fund’s income ceiling. That ceiling is adjusted from time to time and the current figure isn’t something to guess at. Check your latest payslip for the UIF deduction, or confirm the ceiling on the UIF’s own site, before you work out what your payout should be.
The full period is capped. Maternity benefits will be paid for a maximum of 121 days. That’s roughly four months, matching the unpaid portion of maternity leave for most workers under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
How to claim
You can claim online or in person.
Online, through uFiling. As an online registered employee you will be able to securely submit your application for benefits, for unemployment, reduced time benefits, maternity, illness and adoption, and to submit continuation of benefits and notice of appeal. Register or log in at ufiling.labour.gov.za, select the maternity benefits option, and follow the prompts to upload your documents.
In person, at a labour centre. The paper route uses a specific form. The application is made under section 25(1) of the Unemployment Insurance Act, read with regulation 5(1) and 5(4), on form UI-2.3. Take it to your nearest Department of Employment and Labour office, along with your ID and supporting proof of your pregnancy or birth and your employment history.
Whichever route you use, don’t wait too long. You need to lodge the claim before the birth or within 12 months afterwards, and the fund can only pay out once your employer has confirmed your earnings and leave status. Getting your documents in early avoids a payment delay once your baby arrives.
What you’ll need on hand
Expect to be asked for your ID, your UIF reference or the UI-19 confirmation from your employer showing your service and earnings, proof of the pregnancy or birth such as a medical certificate or birth certificate, and your banking details so the fund can pay you directly. Exactly which forms are required can vary slightly depending on whether you apply online or at a centre, so confirm the checklist with the labour centre or on the uFiling portal before you submit.
Where to check officially
Rules, forms and the income ceiling used to calculate your payout can change, so always confirm the current detail with the source rather than a general guide. The Department of Employment and Labour runs the UIF and publishes the maternity benefit rules, forms and contact numbers on its site. For more information about the UIF, visit your nearest labour centre, call the call centre at 012 337 1680 or the toll-free number at 0800 843 843, or visit the Department of Labour’s website. For online claims, use the uFiling portal directly rather than a third-party site.
