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A number of issues are being addressed that prevent foreign citizens, who are documented and legally employed in South Africa, from receiving Covid-19 benefits and some of these employees will be paid this week, according to the Department of Employment and Labor.
During a briefing by Minister of Employment and Labor Thulas Nxesi on Sunday about workplace readiness as the country moves from level five to level four of its Covid-19 response, it was announced that other R2 .4 billion in Temporary Employer benefits / The Employee Assistance Plan (TERS) has been authorized for payment on Monday. A total of 29,000 employees will benefit, including South Africans and foreigners, said Deputy Minister Boitumelo Moloi.
Moloi noted that there were initially delays in disbursements, but progress has been made since then. Covid-19 TERS bulk disbursements amount to R5.3 billion and have reached 98 employers and 1.1 million workers.
When asked whether foreigners, who are legally in the country and legally employed, would receive a payment from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (FIU) similar to their South African counterparts, Nxesi noted that there were problems with disbursements, either related to bank accounts or accounts with the South African Revenue Service (SARS), but have since been ordered. But Nxesi emphasized that illegal aliens, who are not documented, cannot be paid. “Those who are illegal, who are not documented, it is clear that we cannot do something illegal ourselves.” He called on employers to comply with the law.
The FIU lawyer Mzi Yawa further explained that various categories of employees had not yet been paid, regardless of whether they were foreigners or South Africans. “The law is blind to whether you are a foreigner or a South African,” he said. “Everyone receives the same pay, according to the [UIF] formula … everyone is equal before the law, “he added.
According to Yawa, some 50,000 claims have not been paid due to errors in requests. There are over 12,000 claims that had bank errors. The FIU worked with the Association of South African Banks to resolve these errors. Another 486,000 employees are considered unreported or uninsured: They are employees who do not register in the FIU database because employers pay FIU contributions through SARS. But the government has worked with SARS on this matter and 87% of these cases have been resolved and will be paid, he explained. These claims amount to R1.9 billion and will be paid next week.
Compensation Fund
Employees can also claim the Compensation Fund for hiring Covid-19 from the workplace. So far 42 claims have been received, Moloi confirmed. Only one application had been rejected because Covid-19 was not a work-acquired illness, Moloi said.
Anyone who intends to claim the Compensation Fund must provide a clinical report showing that they have tested positive for the virus, Moloi explained.
The department has also noted that certain groups of workers were not covered by the FIU, such as those in the informal sector and the self-employed. “This issue is firmly on the agenda. At this point, the responsibility remains within the ambit of Social Development and the President’s commitment to expand the social security safety net,” said Nxesi.
