How long does it take to pay out UIF after submitting a claim?

The long answer

It seems that many people are waiting for long periods to get their UIF at the moment. This is firstly because the UIF is moving from its old online system called uFiling to a new upgraded system called UIF Online, and until May 2026, the uFiling system was still accepting UIF applications, but did not actually process them. 

The old uFiling system has now been officially shut down by the Department of Employment and Labour since 20 May 2026. They said that all the unverified applications which had been trapped in the old uFiling system were now saved to a separate database, and would be analysed and moved into the new UIF Online platform.  

UIF said that the old uFiling platform is now only used for employer registrations, declarations, and contributions, and that these will also be migrated to the new UIF Online platform by August 2026. But in the meantime, all this has caused delays and administrative bottlenecks. 

UIF says the time it should take for first approval of your application is about 20 working days. Your first payout should take about four to six weeks after your submission. This is due to the UIF doing extra fraud checks and verification. Payments after that should take 7 to 10 working days, after you sign every 28 days for payments to continue.  

Biz Portal says if your claim is taking too long, you should go to the Labour Centre where you submitted your claim and ask what is holding up your claim. You can also call the UIF Call centre on 0800 843 843. In either case, you will need to have your ID number ready.

You can also track your claim by dialling the USSD code *134*843# on your phone.

Wishing you the best,
Athalie