UIF pays R2.2 billion in COVID-19 benefits to date

The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) said today, it has paid out more than R2 billion in COVID-19 benefits.

UIF Commissioner, Teboho Maruping, said more than 77 000 employers have submitted applications and that the UIF has paid R2.2-billion (R2 241 402 841.96) for COVID relief benefits and R838 million for normal benefits from 16 April 2020 to date.

“When we receive applications from employers, we verify the information to ensure that the employees they are claiming for, appear on our system. When we identify inconsistencies, we send the enquiry to the employer for verification,” Maruping said.

He added that may employees who may qualify for COVID-19 Temporary Employer / Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) benefits may not receive money due to them because companies have either not applied on their behalf or have not corrected the information to enable the UIF to pay timeously.

“The UIF is concerned that as of today, 220 768 employees who collectively may be entitled to as much as R927 694 773 in benefits have their payments delayed pending verification by the employers because some of the beneficiaries either do not appear in the UIF’s system or the information given is insufficient.”

The National Employers’ Association of South Africa (NEASA), in a newsletter to its members, said there are still many anomalies surrounding the TERS claims process.

“Employers who have applied online but who have received no confirmation as to whether the claim has been approved or rejected, should log into the system and use the “Payment Breakdown Report” to determine if the claim has been processed, approved or declined, and if declined, for what reason,” NEASA said.

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