UIF is 1% of an employee's remuneration deducted from their salary, plus 1% contributed by the employer — 2% in total. Contributions are capped at monthly remuneration of R17,712, so the maximum is R177.12 from each side, R354.24 combined. Both amounts are declared and paid on the monthly EMP201.

The contribution is small. The consequences of getting the administration wrong are not — because an employee who cannot claim when they lose their job comes back to the employer, and the Department of Employment and Labour registration is the piece most businesses miss entirely.

TL;DR

  • 1% employee + 1% employer = 2%

  • Capped at R17,712 of monthly remuneration

  • Maximum R177.12 from each side, R354.24 combined

  • Payable from the first rand — the income tax threshold is irrelevant

  • Two registrations: SARS for the contributions, Department of Employment and Labour for the fund

  • Monthly UI-19 declarations are what allow employees to claim

  • Declared and paid on the monthly EMP201, due by the 7th

How UIF is calculated

The calculation is simple, and the cap is the only thing that complicates it.

Monthly remuneration Employee 1% Employer 1% Total
R8,000 R80.00 R80.00 R160.00
R15,000 R150.00 R150.00 R300.00
R17,712 R177.12 R177.12 R354.24
R25,000 R177.12 R177.12 R354.24
R80,000 R177.12 R177.12 R354.24

Once remuneration reaches the ceiling, the contribution stops rising. An employee on R80,000 a month pays exactly the same R177.12 as one on R17,712.

UIF is payable regardless of the tax threshold. An employee earning R6,000 a month pays no PAYE — the annual tax threshold is R99,000 — but still pays R60 of UIF, and the employer still contributes R60.

What counts as remuneration for UIF

Broadly the same remuneration base used for PAYE, with some differences. Certain payments are excluded from the UIF calculation, including commission in some circumstances and certain lump sums. Where your payroll includes irregular payments, check how your system is treating them rather than assuming.

Who is excluded

Not everyone is covered. The main exclusions:

  • Employees working fewer than 24 hours a month for an employer

  • Employees on learnership agreements registered under the Skills Development Act

  • Public servants in national and provincial government

  • Certain foreign nationals entering the country to work under a contract of service, where they are required to leave South Africa at the end of it — this exclusion is narrower than employers often assume, so check before applying it

  • Persons receiving a state old age pension

Domestic workers are included. They have been covered since 2003, and a household employing one domestic worker is an employer for UIF purposes with the same registration and declaration obligations as any business.

The two registrations nobody tells you about

This is the part that causes real problems.

Registration 1: SARS

Registering as an employer with SARS covers PAYE, UIF and SDL as tax types. This is what allows you to declare and pay the contributions on the EMP201.

Doing only this means the money reaches the fund — but the fund has no record of who it relates to.

Registration 2: Department of Employment and Labour

You must separately register with the Department of Employment and Labour, through uFiling or at a labour centre, and then submit monthly UI-19 declarations of employee details.

The UI-19 is what makes a claim possible. It records each employee's identity, remuneration and employment status. Without it, the Department has no record of the employment, and a former employee who tries to claim is told there is no history — at which point they come back to you, usually angry, and you spend days reconstructing declarations.

Register once, declare monthly. The declaration takes minutes and prevents a genuinely unpleasant situation.

When an employee leaves

Termination is where UIF administration actually matters to the person.

Update the UI-19 with the termination date and the reason for termination. The reason code determines whether the employee can claim at all — dismissal for misconduct, resignation, retrenchment and contract expiry are treated differently.

Give the employee their documents. A former employee claiming will typically need their ID, the UI-19 record, a service certificate, and banking details.

Do it promptly. A person who has just lost their job cannot wait weeks for an employer to update a declaration.

What UIF actually pays for

Worth knowing, because employees ask and because it explains why the administration matters.

The fund pays benefits for:

  • Unemployment — where employment ends other than by resignation, in most cases

  • Illness — where a person is unable to work for an extended period

  • Maternity — a significant benefit, and the one employees most often claim

  • Parental, adoption and commissioning parental leave

  • Dependants' benefits — payable to a deceased contributor's dependants

Benefits are calculated on a sliding replacement rate — lower earners receive a higher percentage of their previous income than higher earners — and are paid for a period based on how long the person contributed.

Credits accrue with contributions. An employee who was never declared on a UI-19 has no credits, regardless of the fact that contributions were paid.

How to pay

UIF for employees registered with SARS is declared and paid on the monthly EMP201, alongside PAYE and SDL, due by the 7th of the following month or the last business day before it where the 7th falls on a weekend or public holiday.

Both the employee deduction and the employer contribution are declared on that return. Declaring only one — usually the employee's — understates the liability every single month and produces a growing shortfall that surfaces at reconciliation.

Employers who are not registered for PAYE, such as a household employing a domestic worker, pay UIF directly to the Department of Employment and Labour through uFiling rather than on an EMP201.

The mistakes that cost the most

1. Registering with SARS and not with the Department of Employment and Labour. By far the most common. Contributions are paid, no UI-19s are submitted, and nobody discovers the problem until an employee tries to claim.

2. Not applying the cap. Calculating 1% on full salary for high earners over-deducts. On a R60,000 salary that is R600 instead of R177.12 — R422.88 a month wrongly taken from the employee, and an employer contribution overstated by the same.

3. Forgetting the employer's 1% on the EMP201. The return carries both sides.

4. Not deducting UIF from employees below the tax threshold. UIF starts at the first rand. The R99,000 income tax threshold has nothing to do with it.

5. Failing to update the UI-19 on termination. The employee cannot claim, and the problem lands back on your desk.

6. Assuming domestic workers are excluded. They are not.

Frequently asked questions

How much UIF must I deduct from an employee's salary? 1% of the employee's remuneration, capped at monthly remuneration of R17,712, giving a maximum deduction of R177.12 a month. The employer contributes a further 1%, so the total is 2%, up to R354.24 a month.

What is the UIF ceiling in South Africa? Contributions are calculated on remuneration up to R17,712 a month. Above that the contribution stays at R177.12 from each side regardless of how much the employee earns.

Do I deduct UIF from employees who earn below the tax threshold? Yes. UIF is payable from the first rand of remuneration. The income tax threshold of R99,000 a year applies to PAYE only and has no bearing on UIF.

Do domestic workers have to be registered for UIF? Yes. Domestic workers have been covered since 2003. A household employing a domestic worker is an employer for UIF purposes and must register and declare monthly, generally through uFiling.

Who is excluded from UIF? Employees working fewer than 24 hours a month for an employer, employees on registered learnership agreements, national and provincial public servants, persons receiving a state old age pension, and certain foreign nationals required to leave South Africa at the end of their contract of service.

Where do I pay UIF? Employers registered for PAYE declare and pay UIF on the monthly EMP201 to SARS, by the 7th of the following month. Employers not registered for PAYE pay directly to the Department of Employment and Labour through uFiling.

What is a UI-19 and do I have to submit one? The UI-19 is the monthly declaration of employee details to the Department of Employment and Labour. It is what creates the employment record that allows an employee to claim benefits. Paying contributions to SARS without submitting UI-19s means the fund has no record of your employees.

What happens if I never registered with the Department of Labour? Contributions paid to SARS still reach the fund, but there is no employee-level record, so a former employee attempting to claim will be told no history exists. Register and bring the declarations up to date before it becomes someone's crisis.

Small numbers, real consequences

UIF costs a maximum of R177.12 an employee a month. What it costs to administer badly is measured in a former employee unable to claim maternity or unemployment benefits, and a reconstruction exercise you do under pressure.

Smartbook handles both sides — the EMP201 declaration to SARS and the monthly UI-19 to the Department of Employment and Labour — as part of monthly payroll from R750 a month.

See payroll pricing →

Need UIF registration as a once-off? →

Last reviewed: 26 July 2026. Written by the Smartbook team — SAIPA and SAICA accredited, SARS registered tax practitioners. The UIF contribution ceiling of R17,712 a month should be confirmed against the current gazetted figure before relying on it. General guidance, not advice on your circumstances.

Primary sources: SARS — Budget 2026 Frequently Asked Questions · SARS — Pay As You Earn · Department of Employment and Labour — UIF · uFiling