I resigned from my job of 10 years and worked for another company for three months. Can I claim UIF for both?

The long answer

You will not be able to claim UIF for the 10 years you worked before resigning. That is because even though you paid your UIF contributions for those 10 years, UIF is only for workers who lose their jobs by being dismissed, retrenched or by the contract ending. If you choose to resign from a job, you will not qualify for UIF payments.

The only exception to this rule is Constructive Dismissal: this is when you are forced to resign because your employer made your work life intolerable. And that must be proved and ruled to be constructive dismissal by the CCMA. 

As your contract has ended for your second job, you can certainly claim UIF for the three months you worked. You must apply within 12 months of your contract ending.

But the UIF credits you accumulated in your previous 10-year job are tied to your ID number on the official uFiling System. If you work at a new company for at least three months and carry on making UIF contributions, your new employment history combines with any valid previous credits you have. 

Unused credits expire after four years of no new contributions.

Because you resigned from the 10-year job, you could not claim UIF then. But those credits remain on your record and are "reactivated" when you lodge a new claim. So now that your three-month contract job has ended, your UIF payout will be calculated using all your accumulated credits, including those from the 10 years you worked before you resigned. That will increase the amount you receive and how long you can claim.

BizPortal explains that for every four days that you work as a contributor, you receive one day’s credit, up to a maximum of 12 months, which equals four years of contributions over any four-year period. To qualify for the full 12 months’ payments, you must have worked as a contributor for more than four years.

They say that the benefits paid range from 38-60% of your salary for the first 238 credit days, and then at a flat rate of 20% from 239 to 365 days. Low-income earners receive a higher percentage.

These are the documents you will need to claim your UIF:

1. A completed UI-19 form and a Service Certificate from both your 10-year employer and your three-month contract employer.

2. Form UI-2.8: Completed and stamped by your bank.

3. Form UI-2.7: Proof of your most recent salary.

4. Contract/Letter of Service: Documentation explicitly showing that your 3-month contract has come to an end.

5. Your 13-digit barcoded South African ID or passport.

6. Proof of registration as a work-seeker

Wishing you the best,
Athalie