Can You Claim UIF if You Resign? | Answered

The decision to resign from a job is not only hard but also heartbreaking. In this situation of ambiguity, one needs mental plus financial support and for this purpose, he finds Unemployment Insurance Finance (UIF) as a Messiah. In South Africa, people who stay more than 21 hours in their working places they pay 1 percent of their earnings to the UIF. Find out whether you are eligible to claim UIF if you resign or not and what is the eligibility criteria to claim UIF.

The money is received by the unemployed, who are fired without any fault, for unpaid sick leaves, maternity, or parental leaves. But the question arises, can you claim funds if you resign? It seems a simple question to you but the answer is full of semantics and technicalities. Stay relaxed, I am here to answer all the queries popping into your mind right now, let’s explore our social support system in this guide!

Claim UIF | If you Resign Willingly

Every citizen of the country contributes about 1% from employer to employee. The fund is to support people who are unable to earn or suffer from a certain condition including sickness, maternity leaves, or parental leaves. It also supports people who are fired by companies or are unemployed because of collapsing any business.

The major purpose of UIF is to fulfill the needs of unemployed people. But the question remains, what happens when you resign and ask for the UIF? Basically, it is a technical problem and has so many aspects.

But the most logical approach is, resignation is a voluntary action of any person. For example, you are a manager in a bank, and because of a personal problem you applied for a resignation and the employer approved it.

If you ask me, I will argue that the action is dependent upon your personal decision therefore you are not fired by the company but unemployed by choice. Here you should understand, the UIF favors only those who are fired by the companies, not by the choice. I am not claiming that you will not get a single penny no matter what the situation was during the resignation days.

What If I Am Forced To Resign?

There might be exceptional cases in which the person is forced to resign. For example, in most situations, people resign because of harassment. Most women are harassed in the workplace therefore they push their resignation papers forward. On the other hand, one is also forced in the shape of bullying or if your boss disturbs you a lot.

But it does not mean you will get the money as you claim the harassment or bullying allegations. Instead, UIF will search for all the proof and it will not grant a single penny until you provide them evidence of harassment or forced resignations. Let’s say your statement is based on facts, UIF will provide you a stipend, not a complete salary.

What If I Apply For Fund After My Resignation?

As I have mentioned before, UIF has criteria for funds. Actually, UIF is administered by a governmental department, that’s why it follows strict rules. Plus, you cannot go against the rules except you challenge them in court. However, here are the complete eligibility criteria for the fund receivers.

Eligibility Criteria

• Only those who contributed to the UIF when they were earning.
• The person is fired on the bases of retrenchment, dismissal or the company collapses.
• The fired person must have spent a certain period of time on the job.

These are the clear guidelines of the UIF, if anything among those three misfortunes happens, you can claim the UIF. Otherwise, there is no chance you can get the fund. Plus, the UIF contribution is voluntary, it is up to you whether you choose to go into the program or not. But in case you are not the contributor, you will not get the fund. Now here are points to note for those who are ineligible for the fund.

Ineligibility Criteria

• People who resign from their job without any problem, on a personal basis are not eligible.
• The employees who are fired because of fraud also do not deserve the UIF, according to the department.
• As I mentioned in the beginning, you must have a record of working more than 21 hours per week, otherwise, you will not get funding.

Complicated Aspects of Resignation

UIF has policies, the people who do not deserve the fund, will not get it. Let’s say you resigned from the bank or the office after 2 months and now you have nothing in your pocket. The resignation you applied for, was by choice not by default. It was not also forced by the employer either there are traces of bullying or harassment, you will not get the fund.

On the other hand, if you are a worker in a reputable firm and you are found misconducting, the company fires you and forces you to leave. So here is a good chance to apply for the fund but the bad news is that there are no UIF privileges for such people. According to the state Insurance department, the person is fired on the basis of a mistake. In more simple words, the person was unsuitable for such a great responsibility, there are no by-default fires.

Therefore, UIF will not present any funds to such people. The third condition on my docket is the less duration. For instance, you start working in a firm that also plays for the UIF from the first salary. But before the second month ends, they fire you or you resign. In such conditions, you will also not get the fund because the duration should be met by at least 13 weeks. Before the mentioned duration, you will not get funds no matter if you are fired by default or forcefully resigned.

FAQs

UIF plays a major role as a support shoulder for people who are in the misery of fate. The organisation is highly organised and controlled by government departments. Because it has to deal with a large number of applications, the firm has certain laws such as it does not grant funds to people who voluntarily resign. However, I explained why it has this restriction and cleared the eligibility criteria. I hope you find this guide helpful!