By Marecia Damons
Thousands of unemployed people may be unknowingly submitting Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) claims through an outdated online system that accepts their applications, but processes nothing.
Millions of unemployed South Africans rely on UIF benefits each year. According to its annual report, the fund paid R18bn in benefits during the 2024/25 financial year.
The UIF’s uFiling system was migrated to a new platform years ago. But the old platform remains live, appears high up in online search results, and gives no indication that it is no longer valid for employees to submit claims.
Claimants often discover the problem only months later, after waiting for payment that never comes.
This was the case of 43-year-old Fran* from Roodepoort, who submitted a UIF application in February after losing her job. She and hundreds of colleagues had been told in December 2025 that their contracts would be terminated 10 months early because of changes to company projects.
“It was supposed to be a permanent position. It was a big shock to all of us,” she said. Throughout January, Fran said, she applied for several jobs without success. With no income coming in, she turned to UIF for financial support while continuing her job search.
South Africa’s official unemployment rate stands at 32.7%, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey
Having contributed to UIF throughout her working life, Fran said she submitted her claim in good faith. “When you Google the [UIF] system online, you find it. So I submitted my claim. It accepted it,” she said.
She submitted all the required documents, including her UI-19 form and banking details, and received reference numbers confirming that her claim had been successfully submitted.
“But I noticed there was no movement…. Then I sent emails with those reference numbers to so many people, and they didn’t even respond,” she said.
When she finally reached a UIF official on the phone at the start of April, the response blindsided her.
“On April 1, I managed to get through to someone, but they said, ‘Sorry, you put your claim through the wrong system.’ I asked how that was possible because it took my claim, and I have reference numbers, so it’s still active…. They said to me, ‘Listen, you’re on the wrong platform, so your claim won’t be approved,’” she said.
She was sent a different link and told to start again.
She says she was also told that she should have found out for herself that the old platform didn’t work.
Fran finally got her claim approved through the Roodepoort UIF office and submitted a payment request on April 21. But her troubles were not yet over, even on the correct system. She was told to wait 10 days for the payment to reflect. The claim remained stuck on “submitted” for more than the 10-day period.
By the time GroundUp began making inquiries with the department of employment and labour earlier this month, Fran, who has a 17-year-old son, had been without income for four months. She said she has been surviving on savings and her boyfriend’s income, and the couple faced the prospect of losing their home.
“Being four months without an income destroys your life,” she said. “So I’m staring into very bad financial situations.”
After GroundUp followed up with the department about her case, Fran finally received a payment.
“I’m sure that so many people give up because they’re fighting this losing battle,” Fran said.
South Africa’s official unemployment rate stands at 32.7%, according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey.
The department of employment and labour issued notices about the migration of the claims system in 2021 and again in 2025, directing users to a new uFiling link.
But neither notice seems to have prompted the removal or redirection of the old platform. On May 19, GroundUp was able to access both the old and the new UIF systems. The old platform is still up.
The department acknowledged receipt of our questions, but did not respond.
