Get Clued Up On Maternity UIF

Navigating through all the bureaucracy of claiming maternity benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Fund can be confusing and overwhelming. We asked two experts to break it all down for us, writes Melany Bendix

- Melany Bendix

STEPHANIE DU PLOOY is from Little Monkey UIF Claims and Bernard Reisner from Cape Labour & Industrial Consultants. This is what they say:

“The maternity UIF benefit is one from the Department of Labour especially for women on maternity leave, who are not receiving a full salary from their employers. These women can claim from the fund to receive a percentage of their salary,” explains Stephanie.

The maternity benefit is available only to women who have been contributing to UIF every month. This is the responsibility of your employer, who should deduct UIF from your salary each month. You can claim maternity UIF for up to four months, calculated from the time you stop working – not from the time baby is born. Stephanie points out that even if you resign while pregnant or during your maternity leave, you may still claim the maternity benefit from the UIF for up to four months.

WHO CAN CLAIM IT?

You must be a South African citizen and have a bar-coded ID book to claim. “However, foreigners with a valid work permit who have been contributing to UIF may also claim,” notes Stephanie. She adds that women eligible for maternity UIF may still claim if they deliver a stillborn child or miscarry in the third trimester, but only for up to six weeks of leave.

CAN YOU CLAIM MATERNITY UIF IF YOU’RE BEING PAID A SALARY?

If your employer is paying your full salary for your entire maternity leave, then no, you can’t claim maternity UIF. But if you are only being paid a portion of your normal salary or your employer is paying full salary for a month or two of your maternity leave, then yes, you may claim for the balance.