The purpose of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is to provide financial relief to employees who have involuntarily lost their employment or income due to retrenchment or dismissal (illness, pregnancy, adoption or death). Considering the high unemployment rate and economic climate in South Africa, many retirees would prefer to continue working mainly due to financial reasons and because they have not saved sufficiently for their retirement during the course of their lifetime. It is...

On 16 October 2018, the South African Department of Labour issued Government Notice No. 1105 regarding the implementation of the Compensation Fund’s New Assessment Model. Currently, the Compensation Fund assess employers on the basis of the industry they operate in and are assigned a specific assessment class for the basis of determining their liability to the fund. The existing 102 subclasses will be mapped into 6 new main classes. The Compensation Fund is of the opinion that the new...

Employers are of the view that registration at the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is voluntary and are usually faced with interest and penalties payable by them for non-compliance or non-payment. The purpose of the fund is to give short-term relief to employees or their dependents when they become unemployed or are unable to work for a certain period. Who must register? All employers must register directly with the UIF unless they are required to register as employers under the Income Tax...