The Unemployment Insurance Fund of South Africa (UIF) is the fund where monthly payments are made from your salary, to ensure that if you lose your job you still have some money to live off of. Originally developed with domestic workers and other informal workers in mind, this fund has now been legislated. Contributions are quite small, which means that the benefits of this fund are not really sustainable in the long run. All employers have to make contributions to the UIF in accordance with the Labour legislation in South Africa, and must act immediately to ensure that their contributions are regular. If you need to access these funds there are certain forms to fill in, which should not take much time.
If you are employing domestic workers then you should be making contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Fund of South Africa in their name. You will need their correct particulars including their residential address, ID number or Passport number, and the amount that you have been paying them. Payments should be made every month so that the benefits of the labour act can be received by all employees in South Africa. Claims can be made by anyone who has been employed, but is no longer employed. The little bit of extra money is aimed as being a source of food in the interim between one job and another.
If you are worried about your domestic workers, make sure that alongside their UIF that you provide them with skills and make regular deposits into a bank account for them to start their savings off on the right foot. In South Africa there is a need to do more than simply just make monthly payments, and fill in forms.