More than 220,000 South Africans may be losing almost R1 billion in cash, says FIU

• More than 220,000 South African workers may be online to receive nearly R1 billion in combined payments, says the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), but it lacks the information to give them their cash.
• That’s not counting employees whose bosses haven’t yet applied for special Covid-19 funding.
• The FIU has now paid more than R2.2 billion in relief related to the new coronavirus and associated blockade.
• For more stories, visit www.BusinessInsider.co.za.

More than 220,000 South African workers may receive a total of not close to R1 billion, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) said on Friday, but does not have the information necessary to send them their cash.

The FIU has been quickly paying Covid-19 benefits under the Employer / Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS), but not everything has gone well.

Those employees, 220,768 of them to be precise, either were not found in the FIU system or their employers did not provide enough information to process their payments, the FIU said.

See also | Covid-19 UIF payment: companies receive millions, but some are not sure how much to pay each worker

On average, if eligible, each would receive around R4,200.

Employers were sent notifications in cases where details were missing, the FIU said.

Under TERS, employers apply for benefits and receive the money, then pass it on to employees who lost earnings due to shorter work hours, forced leave, or other coronavirus-related reasons.

See also | Payments of up to R6 700 per month: this is what workers in troubled companies could get from the government

In some cases, payments are made through other structures, such as bargaining councils, and in some cases payment is made directly to employees.

Only companies that registered with the FIU in mid-March qualify, but potential applicants include everyone from spaza shop assistants to domestic workers.

The FIU believes that many potential recipients have not received requests for help from Covid-19 on their behalf.

See also | Claiming money from the FIU: everything you need to know

Still, the FIU says it has already reported R2.2 billion in Covid-19 benefits, compared to less than R900 million in the normal benefits it offers.

(Compiled by Phillip de Wet)

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