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The UI-19 form: declaring your employees to the Unemployment Insurance Fund

The UI-19 is the employer's declaration to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) at the Department of Employment and Labour that records each employee's employment details, pay and hours, and the date and reason when employment ends. You declare new employees, changes and terminations to the Fund, and a terminated employee needs the termination details on record to claim UIF benefits.

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Key facts

Who receives it
Unemployment Insurance Fund, Department of Employment and Labour
What it records
Employment status and history, salary and hours worked
Contributions
1% employee + 1% employer, up to R17,712 a month
Online channel
uFiling employer portal (employee claims moved to UIF Online on 20 May 2026)

What the UI-19 is

The Unemployment Insurance Act requires employers to register with the UIF and to give the Fund information about their employees. The UI-19 is the form used for that information. The Department of Employment and Labour describes it as confirming an employee's employment status and history, and recording salary and hours worked.

The UI-19 is separate from paying contributions. If you are registered with SARS for PAYE or SDL, you pay UIF contributions to SARS on your monthly EMP201. Employers who are not registered with SARS, such as many domestic employers, declare and pay through the UIF's own system.

When you need to submit it

Employers with electronic payroll usually declare employee information to the Fund every month as an electronic file, rather than filling in a paper UI-19 per person. Keep a signed copy of the termination details for each person who leaves, as they will need it.

  • When you register as an employer, to declare the employees you already have.
  • When you take on a new employee who works more than 24 hours a month.
  • When an employee's details or pay change.
  • When employment ends, with the termination date and a coded reason (for example resignation, dismissal, retrenchment or contract expiry).

uFiling and UIF Online

uFiling is the UIF's online system for employers to register, declare employees and pay contributions. It also accepts bulk file uploads from payroll systems. Employee benefit claims no longer run on uFiling: they moved to the new UIF Online platform, and the old claims portal closed on 20 May 2026.

The Minister of Employment and Labour said in May 2026 that employer registrations, declarations and contributions would remain on the uFiling employer portal until they move to UIF Online, expected by August 2026. Check which portal applies before you file, and use only official labour.gov.za addresses. News reports in 2026 warned that the old claims site stayed reachable through search engines, so type the address yourself rather than following a search result.

Its role in UIF claims

When a former employee claims unemployment, illness, maternity or adoption benefits, the Fund checks their employment history and earnings against what employers declared. Missing or late declarations are a common reason claims are delayed.

A correct termination declaration with the right reason code helps the employee's claim go through. If you never declared the employee, the Fund may have no record of their contributions even if you paid them over to SARS. Keep declarations up to date every month, not only when someone leaves.

Who is covered

Most employees must be declared and must contribute, including domestic workers and foreign employees. The Department of Employment and Labour has confirmed that employers can declare foreign workers on uFiling.

SARS lists a few groups that are excluded from UIF contributions. If someone falls into one of these groups, confirm with the UIF how they should be treated before you leave them off your declarations.

  • Employees who work for you for fewer than 24 hours a month.
  • Officers and employees of national or provincial government.
  • Office bearers such as members of Parliament, provincial legislatures and municipal councils, and traditional leaders.

Keeping your UIF records clean

UIF problems tend to surface only when a former employee tries to claim, often months after they left. By then it is harder to find records and fix errors, and the person may be without income while the claim is stuck.

Build the UIF declaration into your monthly payroll close, alongside the EMP201. Compare the employees on your payroll to those declared to the Fund, and check that leavers have a termination date and reason. Keep proof of each submission. If you change payroll systems, confirm that the new system declares your employees and that nobody was dropped in the move.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Register as an employer with the UIF

    Register on uFiling (or the portal the Department currently directs employers to) and get your UIF reference number.

  2. 2

    Declare your employees

    Submit each employee's details, start date, pay and hours, either per person or as a payroll file upload.

  3. 3

    Update every month

    Declare new starters, pay changes and leavers as part of your monthly payroll routine.

  4. 4

    Record terminations correctly

    For each leaver, declare the last day worked and the correct termination reason, and give the employee a copy.

Rather have it handled for you?

Get your UIF registration and declarations in order

Frequently asked questions

Is the UI-19 still accepted on paper?

In 2022 the UIF withdrew a Gauteng circular that had stopped manual UI-19 forms and said labour centres would keep accepting them. Electronic declaration through the UIF's online system is the usual route; check current guidance on labour.gov.za.

Do I submit the UI-19 to SARS?

No. The UI-19 information goes to the Unemployment Insurance Fund. SARS only collects UIF contributions from employers registered for PAYE or SDL.

My former employee says their UIF claim is stuck. What should I check?

Check that you declared them, that their earnings were declared for each month, and that the termination date and reason were submitted correctly.

Do I need to declare an employee who works fewer than 24 hours a month?

SARS lists employees working fewer than 24 hours a month as excluded from UIF contributions. Confirm with the UIF how to treat them for declaration purposes.

Official sources

This guide explains the general rules. Requirements and portal steps change, so check the official source before you file.