The UI-19 Form Explained (2026)

The UI-19 is the form South African employers must submit each month to the Unemployment Insurance Fund, declaring every employee's remuneration, hours and any change in employment status. Employees do not complete it themselves, but they need a copy of it to claim a UIF benefit.

Information last verified on 23 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about South African law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

What Is the UI-19 Form?

The UI-19 is headed, in full: "UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT 63 OF 2001 AS AMENDED... UI-19 Employers Declaration of Employees for the month of... Information to be supplied in terms of Section 56(1&3) read with Regulation 13(1&2)." As that heading states, it is the employer's declaration, not a form an employee applies for or completes on their own behalf.

Every registered employer submits a UI-19 for its workforce, listing each employee's details for the reporting month. It is separate from a benefit application: the UI-19 is how the Fund learns who is employed and what changed, while a claim form such as UI 2.1 or UI 2.3 is how an individual applies for a specific benefit.

The Seventh Day Duty

The form's own header records the underlying duty: "An employer must by the seventh day of each month inform the Commissioner with all the information during the previous month regarding the employer's contact details or employees remuneration details including new appointments and termination of service." This is a recurring monthly obligation under section 56(1) and (3) of the Unemployment Insurance Act, read with regulation 13(1) and (2), not a once off filing made only when someone is hired or dismissed.

What the Form Captures, and Why the Termination Code Matters

For each employee, the UI-19 captures remuneration, hours worked, the date the employee started, and, where employment has ended, the termination date together with a coded reason for termination and the employee's contributor status.

The termination reason is not a formality. A UIF claim is assessed against how and why the employment ended, so whether the code reflects resignation, retrenchment, dismissal or another reason can affect how a claim is treated. If you believe the reason recorded on your UI-19 is wrong, raise it with your employer or your nearest Labour Centre before it affects a benefit application. The UIF claim process page sets out the full claim documents list and time limits.

Where to Get the UI-19 Form

The official UI-19 is published by the Department of Employment and Labour and can be downloaded directly from its DocumentCenter, or found through the Department's UIF forms directory, which also hosts the UI-2.1 unemployment, UI-2.2 illness, UI-2.3 maternity, UI-2.8 banking and UI-12 appeal forms.

Filing Channels: uFiling or a Labour Centre

An employer can submit UI-19 declarations electronically through uFiling, or in person, or by fax, to any UIF branch, following the submission channels printed on the form itself. uFiling is the same system employees use to lodge a benefit claim, so an employer already registered on it can handle both its monthly declarations and any queries in one place.

If Your Employer Has Not Given You a UI-19

A UI-19 is the employer's responsibility, but an employee who needs one, for example to open a UIF claim, sometimes finds an employer has not issued or filed it. Where that happens, report the matter to your nearest Labour Centre; general Departmental guidance points employees toward the Labour Centre network for this kind of employer non-compliance, though this guide cannot set out a specific penalty an employer would face, since none is confirmed here.

Related Reading

The UI-19 is one document among several needed to open a claim. For the full documents list, claim channels and time limits, see how to claim UIF. For how the Fund itself works, including the five benefit types and contribution rate, see UIF in South Africa. For the maternity specific rules, see UIF maternity benefits. For the wider labour law picture, see the South Africa labour law section and the South Africa Laws hub.

This page is general legal information about South African law and is not legal advice. For advice on a specific situation, consult an attorney, or contact Legal Aid South Africa on 0800 110 110 if you cannot afford one.