UIFFin24 reports that the new round of Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) payments for industries that can't operate fully during the Level 4 lockdown will be made directly to workers in an effort to avoid fraud by "unscrupulous employers".

While employers are still expected to claim from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) on their workers’ behalf from Monday, this time around payment will be directly into employees’ bank accounts – "unless otherwise decided at the discretion of the UIF Commissioner", the fund advised in a statement "It is therefore crucial for employers to provide valid and accurate details of their employees including identity document numbers and valid bank accounts," acting UIF commissioner Mzie Yawa indicated. The UIF said that in instances where workers did not have accounts or there were issues in paying them directly, employers must provide proof and "funds may be paid into the employer’s account at the UIF’s discretion". "We have learnt the lesson from the previous phases that some unscrupulous employers did not advance the funds to their employees and it is for that reason that we have opted for this mode of payment,” Yawa reported. Successful claims will start to be paid out from 26 July.


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