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Business Insider SA reports that the Unemployment Insurance Fund has so far paid out more than R1.6 billion in special coronavirus benefits – known as the Covid-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (Ters) – to 37,000 companies.
The money is paid, in one lump sum, directly into each company’s bank account, and they have to then pay it to the workers, 600,000 in all, who have been put on unpaid leave, laid off temporarily, or who only received part of their salary. But most companies did not receive any guidance from the UIF about how the money should be split among the employees. According to a survey among the 10,000 members of the National Employers Association of SA (Neasa), less than 1% received a payment schedule along with the UIF money in their accounts. This means companies don’t have instructions about what amount each employee should get. The UIF uses a specific formula and a sliding scale to determine what each recipient is entitled to. The payout period covers five weeks (the lockdown period), not a month, which adds to the complexity of the calculation. A UIF spokesperson said companies who were uncertain about what they should pay should contact the fund immediately.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by BusinessInsider
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