On 11 January 2017, President Zuma signed the Unemployment Insurance Amendment Bill into law.  The Amendment Bill has the effect of improving the benefits payable to contributors and also increases some of the time periods prescribed in the Act.

Set out below is a summary of the amendments:

•  UIF will be extended to learners who are engaged to do learnership training.
•  Employees who lose part of their income due to reduced working hours (for example, short time) will, subject to certain parameters, be entitled to claim benefits.
•  Contributors will receive benefits for a longer period of time.  Contributors will be able to claim unemployment benefits for up to 365 days, instead of 238 days, if they have worked for a continuous four-year period.
• The time period within which a contributor to the Fund has to submit a claim for UIF has increased from 6 months to 12 months.
• The provision of maternity benefits for employees who suffer a miscarriage (in the third trimester of pregnancy).
•  Contributors may apply for maternity leave benefits eight weeks before delivery and up to 12 months after birth.
• Maternity benefits will be paid at a flat rate of 66% of the last earnings of an employee.
• Contributors will be entitled to claim illness benefits if they have been sick for 7 consecutive days, instead of 14 days.
• Allowing contributors to the Fund to nominate their beneficiaries in cases of death benefits.
• No person or agency may charge a fee to assist a contributor with the submission of his/her claim forms.

Although the Amendment Bill has been signed into law, the date on which the amendments will come into operation has not yet been proclaimed.