UIF pays a percentage of what you used to earn, on a sliding scale. Lower earners receive up to 60% of their daily income and higher earners as little as 38%, with the calculation capped at the UIF earnings ceiling rather than your actual salary. Anyone earning above the ceiling is assessed as though they earned exactly the ceiling.
How long it lasts depends on credit days. You earn one credit day for every four days worked while contributing, up to a maximum of 365 days, which takes roughly four years of continuous contributions to accumulate fully. Someone who worked and contributed for eight months has far fewer days available than the maximum.
Maternity benefits work differently and are worth separating out. They are paid at a flat rate for up to 121 days and do not consume your ordinary unemployment credits in the same way.
You have twelve months from the date your employment ended to claim, and the claim needs your employer to have submitted a UI-19 declaring the termination. If they have not, that is the first thing to chase, because without it the claim cannot be processed no matter how long you contributed.