The Quick Answer
The UI-19 is the employer's declaration to the Unemployment Insurance Fund: who works for you, what they earn, and - when employment ends - when and why it ended. It must be submitted for every new hire, every salary change and every termination, by the 7th of the following month, on paper to a labour centre or electronically via uFiling or your payroll software. Without it, the employee cannot claim UIF benefits.
The one thing to remember
The UI-19 is not a termination form - it is a running declaration. If the fund only ever hears from you when someone leaves, every claim your ex-employees make will stall while the fund reconstructs a history you were required to file monthly.
What the UI-19 Is (and Is Not)
Under the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act, every employer paying an employee who works more than 24 hours a month must register with the UIF, declare those employees, and pay 2% of remuneration (1% employer + 1% employee) each month. The UI-19 is the declaration half of that duty. It is not proof of payment (that is the contribution return), and it is not the benefit application (the employee files those - UI-2.1 for unemployment, UI-2.3 for maternity - with the UI-19 as supporting proof).
When You Must Submit One
A new employee starts
Declare them in the first monthly declaration after their start date.
Remuneration changes
The declared figure drives future benefits - keep it current, not historic.
Any termination
Resignation, dismissal, retrenchment, contract expiry or death - with the correct reason code and last day worked.
An employee requests it for a claim
Maternity and illness claims need current declarations; issue a copy without delay - refusing is an offence.
UIF Contribution Calculator
1% from the employee, 1% from the employer, on remuneration capped at R17,712.00 per month. Enter the gross monthly remuneration:
A monthly declaration, not a once-off termination form: the UIF only knows an employee exists if the UI-19 said so first.
Filling It In, Field by Field
Employer details
UIF reference number, PAYE number if registered, trading name and contact details. The UIF reference is the number claims are matched against - a typo here orphans the declaration.
Employee details
Full names exactly as on the ID, the 13-digit ID number (or passport for foreign nationals), and employment start date.
Remuneration
Gross monthly remuneration subject to UIF - salary plus regular allowances, before deductions. This figure drives both the contribution and the benefit the employee can later claim.
Hours
Average hours worked per month. For variable-hour staff use a representative average - zeros here flag the record for manual review.
Termination date and code
Only on termination: the last day worked and the reason code from the list on the form. The code decides what the employee can claim - get it from the record, not from memory.
Declaration
Signed and dated by the employer or authorised person. Electronic submissions carry the same legal weight as the signed paper form.
The Termination Codes That Decide Claims
The reason code is the field employers treat as an afterthought and employees live with for months. The common ones:
| Code | What it means for the employee |
|---|---|
| 1 - Deceased | Dependants claim death benefits |
| 2 - Resigned | No ordinary unemployment benefit (maternity and illness still claimable) |
| 3 - Dismissed | Employee may claim unemployment benefits |
| 4 - Contract expired | Employee may claim |
| 5 - Retrenched / staff reduction | Employee may claim - and this code cross-checks against your Section 189 paper trail |
| 17 - Business closed | Employee may claim |
Retrenching? The UI-19 with code 5 is part of the statutory termination pack alongside the severance calculation - calculate the package here - and the certificate of service.
Where and How to Submit
uFiling (recommended)
ufiling.labour.gov.za - register once as an employer (households included), then declarations and payments happen in one place with a submission record you can produce later.
Through payroll software
Most SA payroll systems generate and submit the monthly UIF declaration file automatically from the payroll run - the declaration then always matches what was actually paid.
Paper, at a labour centre
Still legal, slowest to reflect. If you must, keep a date-stamped copy - “we never received it” is a real failure mode.
5 Mistakes That Block Claims
Declaring basic salary instead of full remuneration
The benefit is calculated on declared remuneration. Under-declare and the employee’s maternity or unemployment benefit is short - a liability that lands back on the employer.
Wrong or missing termination code
Code 2 (resigned) on what was actually a retrenchment blocks the employee’s claim and triggers exactly the kind of dispute the CCMA hears.
Submitting only at termination
The UI-19 is also the monthly declaration of new hires and salary changes. If the first time the UIF hears about an employee is the day they leave, the claim stalls for months.
Forgetting domestic and part-time staff
More than 24 hours a month = declarable employee. Households and small businesses skip this and discover it at claim time.
No copy on the employee record
The employee needs the UI-19 to claim; the employer needs proof it was submitted. Keep both, dated, with the rest of the termination pack.
Never Reconstruct a UI-19 Again
Every field the UI-19 asks for - start date, remuneration history, hours, termination date and reason - is data an HR system already holds. In Synthro the employee record carries all of it from onboarding to exit, the SimplePay integration keeps declared remuneration in sync with what payroll actually paid, and when someone leaves, the termination pack (UI-19 details, certificate of service, final-pay calculation) comes off the record instead of out of a drawer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I download the UI-19 form?
From the Department of Employment and Labour website (labour.gov.za, under UIF forms) or from any labour centre. Only use the official form - banks, payroll providers and the UIF itself reject altered layouts. If you submit declarations electronically through uFiling or your payroll software, the UI-19 information is captured digitally instead of on the paper form.
Must I submit a UI-19 when an employee resigns?
Yes. The UI-19 is required for every termination regardless of reason - resignation, dismissal, retrenchment or end of contract. The reason code matters to the employee: a resignation (code 2) does not qualify for ordinary unemployment benefits, but the declaration must still be made so the employment history is complete.
What is the difference between the UI-19 and the UI-2.7?
The UI-19 is the employer’s declaration of employment details and termination information. The UI-2.7 confirms remuneration received while still in employment and is used for maternity, illness and adoption benefit claims. Claims commonly need both - the UI-19 proves the employment, the UI-2.7 proves the earnings.
What is the deadline for UI-19 submissions?
Declarations must reach the UIF by the 7th of the month following the change - a new hire, a termination or a salary change. Interest and penalties apply to late contribution payments, and an employee cannot claim benefits until the declarations are on the system.
Do domestic workers need a UI-19?
Yes. A household employing a domestic worker for more than 24 hours a month is an employer under the UIC Act: it must register (U-Filing handles households), declare the worker on the UI-19, and pay the 2% contribution. Skipping this is the single most common reason domestic workers cannot claim maternity or unemployment benefits.