THE Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has begun processing Covid-19 TERS applications for the period covering 16 August to 15 September 2020.
The payments are part of government’s efforts aimed at acting as a safety net for workers detrimentally affected by the pandemic’s affect on the country’s economy during the lockdown.
In a statement, the Department of Employment and Labour said the disbursements have shielded many families from falling into the poverty trap.
You may be interested: Health minister hails environmental health practitioners amid Covid-19 pandemic
“To apply for the September period, employers are required to upload similar documentation which includes signed approval or acceptance letter, bank confirmation letter, proof of payment to employees, and refund to the UIF – if applicable,” said the Acting UIF Commissioner, Marsha Bronkhorst.
The department said applications will be subjected to a stringent vetting process with external partners to ascertain the validity of claims before the funds are paid and to ensure that the new controls weed out fraudulent claims.
“Early signs of the new vetting process with external partners show that we are on the right track, as we have been able to pick up potentially fraudulent claims,” she said.
Payments of claims was last month stopped and referred to the UIF’s Risk Management Unit for further investigation,” Bronkhorst said.
She added claims for the June period will close on 15 October 2020, while claims for July and August will close on 30 October 2020.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations. You can also sign up for news alerts on Telegram. Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5532. 
