How to use an agency to claim your maternity UIF on your behalf

The first few months of a child’s life are overwhelming, but become worse with the added pressure of financial strife. Mothers may need to cope with claiming their maternity UIF and contending with a new baby and many cases being a mom for the first time.

While on maternity leave, some women receive a percentage of their regular salary, and have to go through a long, time-consuming and soul-draining process of claiming the balance from the government. 

Unfortunately, you cannot claim for maternity benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) before you go on maternity leave. This means that it has to happen when your maternity leave commences. 

Between adjusting to new sleeping patterns, figuring out the best breastfeeding position, and trying to remember when you last had a shower, filling documents might not be on your list of priorities. 

This is why using an external agency may be a more feasible option for moms that can afford to do so. 

Agencies like Sweet Dreamz operate on that very notion and can stand on those long queues and ensure that your applications are submitted timeously. 

The company will give you all the information you need to fill in the forms accurately. According to the agency’s website it answers all those pesky questions you might have about UIF that you may struggle to get answer on from government, they will fill out the forms. According to another agency, Baby Benefits UIF, recent changes to legislation prevents them from phoning the UIF on your behalf. 

A lot of the time, moms don’t receive their money on time because they did not fill in a certain section properly. These are the forms that need to be filled in, accurately and legibly;

• form UI-2.8 for banking details
• form UI-2.7
• form UI-2.3 (application form)

Before these forms and their supporting documents are submitted, they are checked and you can fix what you need to before it is submitted to the department of labour. 

How much does this cost?

The agencies charge a once-off fee, and the fees are not the same. Sweet Dreamz, for instance, charges a once-off-fee of R850. Some agencies charge R550.

Other agencies that you can use

• No Q UIF
• UIF Connect
• Mother’s Joy 

ALSO READ: How to claim for maternity UIF without losing your cool

Article updated 20 October 2021