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The UI-19 Form: A Household Employer's Guide

The UI-19 is the Employer's Declaration of Employees — the form that tells the Unemployment Insurance Fund who works for you, what you pay them, and when they start or leave. For a domestic worker it is the single most important piece of paper in the UIF system: without an up-to-date UI-19 on file, her claim for unemployment or maternity benefits will stall. This guide explains exactly when you must submit it and how to complete each block.

Last reviewed June 2026 · wage figures from 1 March 2026

What the UI-19 form is

The UI-19 is issued under section 56 of the Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001, read with Regulation 13. It is a one-page declaration with two parts: your details as the employer (including your UIF reference number) and a line-by-line schedule of your employees — surname, initials, ID number, gross monthly pay, start date and, when relevant, termination date and reason.

It is not a registration form and it is not a payment. You register once as a domestic employer on the UI-8D form, you pay monthly UIF contributions, and you use the UI-19 to keep the Fund's record of your worker current. The Fund pays benefits based on what your declarations say, so an out-of-date UI-19 means delayed or wrongly calculated benefits.

When you must submit a UI-19

The form itself states the rule: an employer must, by the seventh day of each month, inform the UIF Commissioner of any information from the previous month about the employer's contact details or employees' remuneration, including new appointments and terminations of service. In practice that means you submit a UI-19 at three moments in a domestic worker's employment.

First, when she starts: a completed UI-19 must accompany your UI-8D registration. Second, whenever something changes — a salary increase, a change in your address or contact details, or hiring a second worker — declare it by the 7th of the following month. Third, when employment ends for any reason: complete the termination date and the correct reason code and submit it immediately, because your worker cannot claim benefits without it. The official UIF FAQ confirms that failing to submit the termination declaration delays the processing of the ex-worker's claim.

If you registered to pay your contributions annually up-front, the UIF FAQ says you still declare at least once a year, and again whenever your worker's particulars change. Employers who use uFiling submit the same declaration online as a monthly return.

How to fill it in for a domestic worker

Block 1 covers you, the employer. Enter the UIF employer reference number you received when you registered, your trading name (for a household, your own name as used on the UI-8D), and your physical, postal and email details. Only complete the PAYE reference field if you are registered with SARS as an employer — most private households are not.

Block 2 is one row per worker, columns A to J: surname, initials and the 13-digit ID number; total gross remuneration paid per month; hours worked during the month; commencement date of employment; termination date and termination reason code (only when service ends); whether the person is a contributor (YES for almost every domestic worker); and, if not, a non-contributor code — code 1 is for temporary workers employed less than 24 hours a month, who are excluded from UIF.

Two details from the form's own footnotes matter for households. Remuneration means actual basic salary plus payment in kind — declare the real gross figure. And if you pay a weekly wage, convert it to a monthly amount by multiplying the weekly wage by 52 and dividing by 12. Finally, sign the declaration: it is an offence to make a false statement on a UI-19.

Termination reason codes that matter to households

The reason code you choose decides whether your ex-worker can claim, so pick it honestly and accurately. The codes most relevant to domestic employment are listed on the form itself.

Where to get the form and where to send it

Download the current UI-19 free from the Department of Employment and Labour at www.labour.gov.za (under Document Centre, Forms, Unemployment Insurance Fund) or collect one at any labour centre. Never pay a third-party site for it.

You can submit it three ways: online through uFiling at ufiling.labour.gov.za, which is the route the UIF itself recommends and lets you declare and pay in one place; by hand at any UIF branch or labour centre; or by fax to the head-office numbers printed on the form, (012) 337-1943/44 or (012) 337-1580/81/82, with regional fax numbers listed for every province. Keep a dated copy or fax/upload confirmation of every UI-19 you submit — it is your proof of compliance and your worker's lifeline if a claim is ever queried.

Mistakes that delay a domestic worker's claim

The same handful of errors cause most rejected or stuck claims: an ID number that does not match Home Affairs records; declaring a rounded or understated wage instead of the real gross pay (benefits are calculated from declared remuneration); choosing code 6 'resigned' when the worker was actually dismissed or retrenched; and simply never submitting the termination UI-19 at all. If your contributions are also in arrears, expect the Fund to demand the back payments before the claim moves. Get the declaration right and in on time, and a straightforward claim should be processed within the UIF's stated 15-working-day turnaround.

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