Workers and companies can now apply for special coronavirus payouts from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), for the month of May - after a freak cable break delayed the process by a day.
So far the UIF has paid out more than R15 billion in Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) payments, covering the period between the start of lockdown to the end of April. Three million workers have received money.
Workers who are put on leave, have been laid off temporarily, or whose employers can’t afford to pay their full salaries due to the coronavirus crisis are entitled to the TERS payouts.
The TERS payments were supposed to run only to the end of June, but the government is assessing whether payments can be extended, labour minister Thulas Nxesi said recently. He warned, however, that the UIF may be forced to reduce the benefit.
Many applicants have complained about major frustrations with the process, with only some workers getting paid and discrepancies about the amounts due.
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