There are two separate UIF obligations. You register with SARS and pay UIF contributions over monthly on the EMP201 alongside PAYE and SDL. Separately, you register as an employer with the UIF at the Department of Employment and Labour and submit employee declarations, including the UI-19 when someone leaves. Doing the first and not the second is extremely common — and the employer usually finds out when a former employee cannot claim.
The money reaching SARS does not put your employees on the Labour database. Nothing links the two automatically for you.
What are the two registrations?
| SARS | Department of Employment and Labour | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | UIF contributions collected with PAYE and SDL | Registration as an employer with the UIF, plus employee declarations |
| How | On the EMP201, monthly | Through the Labour UIF system |
| What it achieves | The money is paid over | The employees are on record and can claim |
| What is submitted | Amounts | Employee details, and the UI-19 on termination |
The distinction that matters: SARS collects the money. Labour holds the record of who the money was for.
An employer who only did the SARS side has been paying UIF for people the UIF does not know exist.
How does the gap show up?
Almost always at the worst moment, and not to you.
An employee is retrenched, or resigns, or goes on maternity leave. They go to claim. The UIF has no record of their employment, or has a record that stops at some historical date, or has no termination declaration.
The claim stalls. And the person who cannot pay rent while it is sorted out is not you.
Then it becomes your problem too: a complaint, an inspection, and a finding that employees were not declared.
The other place it surfaces is a labour inspection. An inspector asks for UIF registration and declarations, and "we pay it on the EMP201" is not an answer to that question. See what a labour inspection checks.
What has to happen, and when?
When you first employ someone
Register with SARS for PAYE, UIF and, where applicable, SDL. See when must you register for PAYE.
Register as an employer with the UIF at Labour, separately.
Declare the employee on the Labour side.
Both, before the first payment. See how to hire your first employee.
Every month
Pay the contributions over to SARS on the EMP201, by the 7th.
Keep the Labour declarations current — new starters added, changes reflected.
When someone leaves
Submit the UI-19. This is the declaration that allows the person to claim, and it is the single most commonly missed item in South African payroll.
It costs you nothing and it is the difference between a former employee being able to claim and not.
Every year
Reconcile. Everyone paid, against everyone declared. See casual staff and UIF.
Who has to be registered?
Broadly, every employee — subject to the narrow exclusions in the legislation.
The main threshold concerns employees working fewer than 24 hours a month for a particular employer. Above that, UIF applies.
Which means:
Part-time staff — yes, in almost every case
"Casual" staff working regular shifts — yes
Someone on a three-month contract — yes
A domestic worker — yes, and this has its own registration route
A director drawing a salary — generally yes, where they are an employee of the company
The exclusions are narrower than employers assume. Where you are unsure, register. The cost of registering someone unnecessarily is a small administrative overhead; the cost of not registering someone who should have been is a contravention plus back contributions.
See UIF contributions explained.
What about domestic employers?
A separate route, and a common gap.
Employing a domestic worker — a cleaner, a gardener, a nanny, a carer — makes you an employer, with UIF obligations, whether or not you have a business.
You register as a domestic employer with the UIF, declare the employee, and pay contributions. There is no exemption because you are a household rather than a company.
See do you need a domestic employer UIF registration.
What if I have been paying SARS but never registered at Labour?
Common, fixable, and worth doing before somebody tries to claim.
1. Establish the actual position. Are you registered at Labour at all? Which employees are declared? Up to what date?
2. Register as an employer with the UIF if you never did.
3. Declare all current employees.
4. Submit outstanding UI-19s for people who have left. This is the step that helps real people, and former employees whose claims failed may still be able to proceed once the declaration exists.
5. Reconcile what you paid to SARS against what is now declared, and take advice where there is a material mismatch.
6. Build both steps into your monthly payroll process so it cannot happen again.
Do not wait for a complaint. An employer who fixes this voluntarily is in a much better position than one who is found to have employees undeclared over several years.
Frequently asked questions
Is UIF registration with SARS the same as with the Department of Employment and Labour? No. They are two separate registrations. SARS collects the contributions on the EMP201; Labour holds the record of which employees the contributions relate to and processes claims.
I pay UIF on my EMP201 — am I compliant? Only partly. Paying the money over to SARS does not put your employees on the Labour database. Without registration and declarations at Labour, your employees may be unable to claim.
What is a UI-19? The declaration submitted to the UIF when an employee's service ends. It is what allows them to claim, and it is the most commonly missed item in South African payroll.
Which employees must be registered for UIF? Broadly all of them, subject to narrow statutory exclusions. The main threshold concerns employees working fewer than 24 hours a month for a particular employer. Part-time and regular "casual" staff are generally included.
Do I need UIF registration for a domestic worker? Yes. Employing a domestic worker makes you an employer with UIF obligations, through a separate domestic employer registration route, whether or not you run a business.
What happens if my employees were never declared? They may be unable to claim when they need to, which usually surfaces at retrenchment, resignation or maternity leave. It also becomes an inspection finding against you.
Can I fix it if I have been paying SARS but never registered at Labour? Yes. Register as an employer, declare current employees, submit outstanding UI-19s for those who have left, and reconcile. Doing it voluntarily is a far better position than being found out.
Does a director drawing a salary need UIF? Generally yes, where the director is an employee of the company. Check the position rather than assuming directors are outside the system.
Two registrations, one payroll process
Nobody sets out to leave their staff unable to claim. It happens because the SARS side is visible — there is a return and a payment every month — and the Labour side is silent until someone needs it.
Smartbook handles both: SARS registration for PAYE, UIF and SDL, employer registration and declarations at the Department of Employment and Labour, UI-19s submitted when people leave, and an annual reconciliation of everyone paid against everyone declared.
See monthly accounting plans →
Last reviewed: 28 August 2026. Written by the Smartbook team — SAIPA and SAICA accredited, SARS registered tax practitioners. UIF thresholds, exclusions and registration processes change from time to time — confirm the current position with SARS and the Department of Employment and Labour. General guidance, not advice on your circumstances.
Primary sources: Department of Employment and Labour — UIF · Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001 · Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act 4 of 2002 · SARS — Employers