Strubenvale woman struggles to claim UIF
Gay Millman (70) has been waiting five months to receive money owed to her from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
She retired on December 31 and applied for UIF at the Department of Labour on January 5.
A very frustrated Millman, who says there was a discrepancy on the department’s system regarding the start of her employment date, feels she is being discriminated against.
“Due to the gap between the two dates, the system couldn’t pay out,” she says.
She subsequently supplied the correct date, but claims it was never rectified on the system.
The Strubenvale resident went back to the UIF offices every month, but always returned home disappointed.
“I have been contributing to the UIF for a long time and feel they owe it to me,” she says.
Springs Department of Labour’s deputy director Izalette Engelbrecht says Millman submitted her claim through her employer, who accidentally declared her employment periods with different starting dates.
Engelbrecht says employment periods need to be declared fully and correctly to enable the claim to be processed, and that Millman’s employer was requested to submit documents for correction several times.
Millman’s claim was approved on June 3, the same day the outstanding documents were received.
Numerous claims are dealt with where employers fail to declare employment periods, which delays the processing and results in unemployed people not accessing UIF benefits.
Employers can register and declare their employees online at www.ufiling.co.za.
The website is easy to use and has step-by-step guides to assist employers through the process.
Engelbrecht says they encourage employers, even employers of domestic workers, to activate their uFiling account and declare and pay their UIF online.
This will simplify the process for employers and ensure that UIF claims can be processed without delay.
