POLOKWANE – The Department of Labour has expressed concern over the number of employers who are not registering their employees for the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), despite subtracting this from wages or salaries.
After having received numerous complaints in this regard in the last week’s, BONUS went to investigate.
Workers from a local cleaning company said the lockdown was given as the reason they had to take unpaid leave. Once they visited the local Labour Department, they were told they were not registered, despite monies being subtracted from their salaries. Copies of their payslips were provided to BONUS.
Lerato Mashamba, the Provincial Communication Officer, says anyone who works more than 24 hours a week, should contribute a portion of their income, deducted equally from their pay and from their employer, resulting in 2% paid to their UIF.
“Workers who have not been registered for UIF should report their employers to the department. We have a sub-unit called ’employer audit’, who will calculate the money owed to the fund and the interest thereof, after which the law will be enforced, ensuring the employer pays. We often encourage employees to check their status at the nearest labour centre or call the UIF hotline 0800 030 007.”
BONUS was also approached by a woman who said she applied for the Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (Ters) but still has not received anything.Mashamba says normal benefits take up to 35 days and a date will be given to you by the claims officer to check the status of your application if all documents are completed correctly and the employer is complying.
“It must also be noted that the person must have been unemployed for more than 14 days in order to qualify.”
For Ters, she says, it was initially 24 to 48 hours, but new features announced suggest it would now take at least three to four days.
“Common delays include employers claiming for workers that are not on our database, incorrect banking details, incomplete details of employees, applications for deceased employees and failed bank verification.”
According to Mashamba it is very important to have the details of your employer when you visit the department and to also ensure that you use the correct banking details. She concluded by saying that employees should not just assume that an employer is contributing to the fund when they see the deduction on the payslip.”Employees must take it upon themselves to check their UIF status.”
