The Department of Employment and Labour together with the National Economic Development and Labour Council social partners have announced that the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) will continue processing new claims for April and May until a cut-off date is announced.   

A 14-day notice window will be given to employers and employees before applications close. The notice period will be announced.

Last month government announced that the Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) benefit was extended until August 15.

UIF Commissioner Teboho Maruping said his department was working to ensure that all valid Covid-19 TERS claims for April, May and June are settled.

“The Fund is also working on a number of front-end adjustments to the system to enable applicants to fix some of the errors on their own which will greatly ease the load on our side and improve the flow,” said Maruping.

The fund has so far paid out over R37-billion.

To fast-track outstanding claims, the UIF is making payments 6 days a week and is re-running updates on declarations on the system twice a week.

The department’s website and the TERS online system will soon host a FAQ guide to assist employers with error codes.

The UIF is also calling on employers to ensure that banking details are updated.

“The Fund will leverage its resources to ensure that it continues to process those claims that are in the system and honour those that are valid in line with the commitment it has made to various parliamentary committees and the workers in this country,” said Maruping.