BusinessLive reports that Department of Employment and Labour Minister (DEL) Thulas Nxesi has moved to clear confusion about the allocation of Covid-19 relief benefits.  

“There are several complaints from some employers who say we paid a lump sum and that they don’t know how to allocate it,” he indicated at a media briefing on Tuesday.  Nxesi said the Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters), which he established on 25 March to provide relief to those in formal employment expected to lose their income due to the coronavirus lockdown, did not make lump sum payments.  Ters is administered by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).  The amount of the benefit is based on a sliding scale of between 38% and 60% of earnings, where the lowest paid are at the top of the scale.  “[Employers] must just be honest … we pay [the benefits] based on the payroll submitted by the employer [containing] all the figures.  We don’t pay the whole amount but 38% [of relief funding] because it’s relief we have budgeted for three months.  We will see what happens after three months,” Nxesi stated.  The minister called on employers to help their workers claim from Ters, saying that some 20,000 employees who were entitled to claim for benefits have not yet done so.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive

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