SOUTH AFRICA - UIF PROCESSES HAMPERED BY FRAUDULENT LOCKDOWN CLAIMS

The Unemployment Insurance Fund says the processing of claims has been hampered by some individuals trying to fraudulently claim during the national lockdown.

The Department of Labour’s COVID-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (TERS) is meant to be a response to the challenges faced by businesses in distress due to the coronavirus lockdown.

During this period a lot of companies have closed, which has led to staff being without work and therefore without their regular salary.

UIF Commissioner Teboho Maruping says they are facing challenges with having to verify claims while adhering to the lockdown regulations.

“I wouldn’t say there’s a backlog really. The one thing that our people don’t talk about is the compliance of companies and as a result of a lockdown. That means in some of these cases where we need to confirm if an employee is compliant, we are not able to do so; and when we need to send inspectors we are also adhering to social distancing. Companies are not complying and it’s quite embarrassing and we also have received a number of people who are taking chances assuming that we will just process their claims because there’s a lockdown. We will not be doing due diligence, so there are a number of those people who are delaying the process,”  says Maruping.

Most companies not applying for temporary employee relief scheme

According to a study conducted by the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Centre for Social Change and the Casual Workers’ Advice Office,  most companies are not applying for the COVID-19 Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Temporary Employee Relief Scheme.

It is based on analysis of 75 companies ranging from large to small and medium enterprises.

The study also indicates that companies that are still operating are largely failing to provide basic or adequate health and safety services and that many employers are instead forcing workers to take paid or unpaid leave.

via - SABC