The applications for Covid-19 TERS benefits claims for the month of May are now back online.

This is after the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) suffered a hiccup of connectivity due to damaged fibre cable which meant that the claims could not be captured immediately.

“As we promised the people of South Africa that we would work on the problem with all the commitment to ensure that the system does not disadvantage those who need to submit their claims, we have delivered.

“Our Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi was also quite clear that we needed to pull all resources to ensure that we continue to serve the people of this country and bring hope during this difficult time of the Coronavirus pandemic. We are happy to report that we are back online to capture and process claims applications for the month of May”, said UIF Commissioner Teboho Maruping.

This time around, the UIF is bringing an enhanced system that will enable employers to retrieve submitted applications for April, make necessary corrections on those rejected applications, and re-submit for payments.

The system will make is easier to resubmit because in cases where the information has not changed, the claim will be processed immediately on confirmation by the employer. But if information has changed, employers will be required to capture employees’ details directly on the system or attach the CSV file.

The following documents must be attached for the May submissions to be successful;

• Proof of TERS payment to employees for April such as electronic bank statement or a letter of acknowledgement of payment between employer and employee (Mandatory)
• Re-upload employer bank confirmation letter or latest bank statement
• Signed approval or acceptance letter received from the UIF for April payments between employer and employee

The National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) partners have given UIF the green light to pay directly into the employees’ accounts for May claims.

“The Nedlac partners have given UIF a mandate to pay directly into the employees’ bank accounts in order to avoid delays and to deal with complaints where employers were alleged to be withholding the money or underpaying employees. In order for these payments to be successful, it is critical for employers to provide clear and accurate banking details of employees”, Maruping continued.

The option for the UIF to pay money to employers, Bargaining Councils or Industry Associations is still available. However, UIF advises employers to select paying directly into employees’ accounts to fast track payments to employees.

The UIF is working round the clock to finalise outstanding claims for April 2020.

“The new features in the system will enable applicants to make corrections on the previous submissions and that will assist in fast tracking the finalisation of outstanding applications for April”, he said.

Maruping also responded to accusations that the UIF is not paying claims to foreign nationals.

“So far we have paid up to R100-million to 23 000 foreign nationals declared on our database, and we are continuing validating and processing these claims. We want to assure every employer and employee of our commitment to settle every outstanding claim still in our system as soon as possible”, Maruping concluded.

Issued by Department of Employment and Labour