The Department of Employment and Labour has ramped up its payment of Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS), as well as normal benefits, to ensure workers are not inconvenienced during the lockdown.
On April 22, the Unemployment Insurance Fund disbursed R92-million, taking the total paid to date from April 16 to just under R1.8-billion. These payments cover up to 790 150 workers.
In some cases, the claims have been paid within 24 hours of presentation.
This is over and above the payments the fund has been paying for ordinary benefits – pregnancy, retrenchments and other benefits – which amounted to R804-million since the beginning of April.
“As enjoined by President [Cyril Ramaphosa], we continue making sure we ease the load of lockdown. We still appeal to more employers to ensure that they apply for relief for their employees to ensure we do not leave anyone behind,” said Labour and Employment Minister Thulas Nxesi.