This page is for employers, bookkeepers and payroll staff. The UI-19 is the declaration an employer sends the UIF about its staff: who joined, what they earned, and who left and why. The current version on labour.gov.za was gazetted on 4 November 2019 and is titled “Employers Declaration of Employees for the month of”. A former employee claiming benefits will also ask you for a salary schedule, which is a separate one-page form. Both are explained below. Download them from the department’s UIF forms folder, where the files are the UI-19 PDF and “Salary Schedule”.
Part 1 of the UI-19: employer details
- 1.1 UIF employer reference number and branch number. If you are unsure of yours, see our page on the UIF reference number.
- 1.2 PAYE reference number, if you are registered with SARS.
- 1.3 to 1.6 trading name, physical address, the address where the listed employees work (if different) and postal address.
- 1.7 company registration (CIPC) number.
- 1.8 to 1.10 email, fax and phone.
- 1.11 authorised person. This is required where the employer is not resident in South Africa, or is a body corporate not registered here.
If you have no UIF reference number yet, you need to register first. Our UIF registration guide covers that.
Part 2: one row per employee
Each row asks for the employee’s surname, initials and ID number, then the following:
- Total gross remuneration for the month, in rand and cents. The form defines remuneration as actual basic salary plus payment in kind. Convert weekly wages to a monthly figure by multiplying by 52 and dividing by 12.
- Total hours worked: actual hours in the month, not contracted hours.
- Commencement date and, if the person left, the termination date (DDMMYY).
- Reason for termination: a code from the list below.
- Contributor: YES or NO. For NO, add a non-contribution code: 1 for temporary staff working fewer than 24 hours a month, 2 for commission-only earners, or 3 where no income was paid for the period.
Termination reason codes
The 2019 form lists these codes: 2 deceased, 3 retired, 4 dismissed, 5 contract expired, 6 resigned, 7 constructive dismissal, 8 insolvency or liquidation, 9 maternity or adoption, 10 illness or medically boarded, 11 retrenched or staff reduction, 12 transfer to another branch, 13 absconded, 14 business closed, 15 death of domestic employer, 16 voluntary severance package, 17 reduced work time, 18 commissioning parental and 19 parental leave. Codes 9 and 17 to 19 relate to maternity, short time and parental leave rather than a permanent exit. The form gives no separate instructions for them, so if an employee on such leave is still on your books, phone 0800 030 007 and ask how the UIF wants that month declared.
Pick the code carefully, because the claims officer relies on it. Under the form’s own note, only the CCMA, a bargaining council or the Labour Court can find constructive dismissal, so do not use code 7 on your own judgement. Writing “resigned” for a retrenchment, or the reverse, misstates the facts on a form you sign as true. The declaration warns that a false statement is an offence.
The salary schedule, line by line
The salary schedule identifies the employee by ID number, initials and surname, and gives your UIF reference number, company name and the full period of service. The table then records each period’s salary frequency and amount, the monthly salary, total hours worked, UIF deductions and contributor status. The form asks for the day, month and year of every salary adjustment and marks all fields as mandatory. Sign it, print your name, date it and add the company stamp. Why the employee needs it is explained in our worker’s guide to the salary schedule.
Sending declarations and keeping records
Each month, by law, the UIF must have last month’s employee data from you before the 7th. That includes new hires, pay changes and terminations. Most employers now declare online through the Declarations Manager on uFiling. Payroll systems can email electronic declaration files to declarations@labour.gov.za, and a paper UI-19 can still be handed in at a labour centre. Ignore the fax numbers and email address printed on the 2019 form, which the department’s current contacts page no longer lists. Employer services were due to migrate to UIF Online around August 2026. Check uFiling’s notice before you file in case the move has happened. Keep a signed copy of every UI-19 and salary schedule with your payroll records, because former staff often ask for them again months later.