To apply for illness benefits, you need to register at the Labour Office nearest to you. If you are too ill to go to the office yourself, a friend or family member can get the form from the office and bring it to you to sign. The signed form then needs to be returned to the Labour Office.
You will need:
A copy of your bar-coded identity document.
Copies of your last six payslips.
Information supplied by your employer (UI-19).
A service certificate from the employer.
Proof of banking details.
A statement of amount received from your employer during the period of the illness.
A fully completed registration form.
You also need to submit a medical certificate (Form UF86) from your doctor. You need to get your doctor to complete the appropriate section of Form UF86 and then submit this to the UIF claims officer at the Labour Office.
The Department of Labour will consider the application and post Form UF87 to you. You need to complete this form and your doctor needs to sign it. You then submit this form to the claims officer as well.
You will be paid benefits for the time that the doctor has booked you off work but not for the first two weeks off work. You will also only be paid for the time that you have not received normal wages from your employer.
Illness benefits will be paid to you by cheque and posted to you.
Remember, you cannot claim illness benefits if your illness was caused by your own misconduct or if you unreasonably refuse treatment or fail to follow the doctor’s instructions.
If you have lost your job as well as being too ill to work, you need to inform the claims officer of this because you might also be able to claim unemployment benefits for the period not covered by the illness benefits.
