Should I bother to claim UIF in South Africa?

You have been earning a decent salary, building up a good reputation from colleagues and you can picture your career path shooting up. This is when you hear the news that stops you dead in your tracks, your company is down-sizing. As you were one of the latest additions to the company you are one of the first out. After the realization has sunk in you start making your plans, they have given you one month notice.

Where to from here? You know your capabilities and that you could do a hundred jobs well, but do you just want to grab the first job that comes along? Do you start frantically sending out your CV to every vacancy in the province or do you take a bit of time out to think?

For many losing a job feels like disaster has struck and the uncertainty for the future makes them uneasy. For some people this may be one of the best things that could have happened to them! Yes, I know you do not think so now but let me tell you why I am saying this. Let's say that you decide to register for UIF (the government's unemployment insurance fund) and they provide you income for the next few months. You now have a lot of time on your hands. Very few working people have the amount of time you now have on your hands. This time can be used constructively towards starting your own business or searching for your ideal new job.

The UIF gives you an opportunity to rethink your life and your goals, evaluate the direction that your life is heading and to take action to steer your life into the direction you want it to go. And this is available to pretty much everyone! If you are not sure whether you qualify, take a look at your last payslip. If you see a deduction called ‘UIF contributions' then you qualify. Since the government has made UIF law the only work not covered will be casual jobs or self employment.

Some people have heard horror stories about long stuffy queues and slow administration. This makes them wonder whether it is worth applying for UIF. Well, it can be horrifying if you do not have the correct information and have to stand in the same stuffy queue 3 times each time with a different form! However if you have the right information then to stand in a queue once a month for a few hours for a few thousand rand may be the easiest couple of thousand you have ever received. And getting the right information on how to claim UIF is as easy as pressing download on www.howtoclaimuif.co.za.

So, should you bother to claim for UIF? Well think of it this way, if I were to offer you a job now that pays R1000 per hour would you take it? The job entails a bit of effort but should not take you too long, are you interested? If your answer is yes then start preparing your paperwork!

Tracy Venter
www.howtoclaimuif.co.za

This article will be of interest to people who recently have become unemployed in South Africa and would like to know how to claim UIF or whether they should apply for UIF. UIF is the abbreviation for the unemployment insurance fund in South Africa. The website www.howtoclaimuif.co.za will give you a step by step user-friendly guide telling you how to register for UIF.