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BusinessLive reports that according to the Casual Workers Advice Office (CWAO), the Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) is unconstitutional to the extent that it does not provide for qualifying employees to apply for the relief benefit themselves if their employers fail to do so.
The NGO has launched a labour court application against Department of Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi and the Commissioner of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), amongst others, and the case is expected to be heard on 28 May. In March, Nxesi launched Ters, administered by the UIF, to provide relief to those in formal employment expected to lose their income due to the coronavirus lockdown. The UIF has disbursed about R11.3bn in Covid-19 relief benefits to date. According to CWAO’s Ighsaan Schroeder, Ters has “two fundamental flaws”. Firstly, the directive governing Ters “irrationally limits the reach of the scheme” as it stipulates that only employers who have registered with the UIF can apply on behalf of their employees. “Secondly, only employers — and not employees — are able to apply for the benefit and so employees whose employers fail to so apply have no alternative mechanism though which they can access the relief. The CWAO wants the court to permit employees to apply in person in the event that their employers fail to do so within a stipulated period.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive
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