Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi
Photo by: Creamer Media's Donna Slater
On May 14 alone, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) paid out R836-million in Covid-19 Temporary Employer / Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) claims.
This benefited 195 521 workers, which are represented by 8 495 employers.
Since April 16, the UIF has paid out just under R13-billion to 2.2-million workers, either in lieu of or as a top-up to their salaries.
In a statement issued on May 15, Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi said the UIF had started paying workers directly rather than paying the funds to employers who then paid their employees.
While the claim is submitted by the employer, who has all the information that is pertinent to making the payment, the actual payment goes straight to the account of the worker to eliminate a further waiting period or other issues.
Nxesi confirmed that, at this stage, completed and valid applications get processed by the department within 24 hours on average, and within 48 hours at worst.
The UIF call centre also now has 500 agents handling up to 70 000 calls a day.