SA Wages Pro

UI-19 Termination Reason Codes

5 min read — Updated September 2026

The Official Codes

Every UI-19 for a worker who has left carries a two-digit code saying why. The list is set by the Department of Employment and Labour and starts at 02 - there is no code 01, so do not go looking for it.

  • 02 - Deceased
  • 03 - Retired
  • 04 - Dismissed
  • 05 - Contract expired
  • 06 - Resigned
  • 07 - Constructive dismissal
  • 08 - Insolvency / liquidation
  • 09 - Maternity / adoption
  • 10 - Illness / medically boarded
  • 11 - Retrenched / staff reduction
  • 12 - Transfer to another branch
  • 13 - Absconded
  • 14 - Business closed
  • 15 - Death of domestic employer
  • 16 - Voluntary severance package
  • 17 - Reduced work time
  • 18 - Commissioning parental
  • 19 - Parental leave

The Three Codes That Decide a Claim

Codes 06, 11 and 16 carry more weight than the rest, because they are the ones that determine whether the worker's unemployment claim goes ahead:

  • 06 (Resigned) - the worker chose to leave, so an unemployment claim is normally blocked.
  • 11 (Retrenched) - the job ended for operational reasons, so the claim proceeds.
  • 16 (Voluntary severance package) - a negotiated exit, treated differently again.

Putting 06 on a worker who did not actually resign will stop their UIF claim. It is the most damaging error you can make on this form, and it is usually made in good faith.

Seasonal Workers: Use 05, Not 06

This one matters enormously on farms. When a seasonal worker's season comes to an end, they have not resigned - their fixed-term contract has simply run its course. The correct code is 05 (contract expired).

Code 06 (resigned) would say the worker walked away by choice, and would block the very claim the UIF exists to pay. A picker whose harvest season has ended is a 05, every time.

If your workers come back next season, 05 is also the honest description - the contract ended, the relationship did not.

How SA Wages Pro Fills the Code In

When you terminate an employee, you pick a termination reason. SA Wages Pro maps that onto the matching UI-19 code - end of contract becomes 05, retrenchment becomes 11, resignation becomes 06, and so on - and puts it on the form for you.

One case cannot be decided automatically: a termination recorded as "mutual agreement" is mapped to 16 (voluntary severance package), because a negotiated exit is closest to that. If it was really a contract ending or a retrenchment, change it before you submit.

Codes 06, 11 and 16 are flagged in the table for you to double-check. Take that prompt seriously - once the Department has the form, correcting it is far harder than getting it right first time.

Was this article helpful?