Government expands on workers who can claim for coronavirus financial relief

Minister of labour Thulas Nxesi has published a new directive expanding the categories of workers who may claim from the UIF’s Temporary Employee / Employer Relief Scheme (TERS).

The TERS applies to employers who are ‘facing distress’ and are unable to pay salaries due to the lockdown. It is one of the key ways that the government is helping distressed workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Originally the scheme allowed employers to apply for financing on their employees’ behalf, and these employers are then responsible for distributing funds to them. However, this has since been extended to allow employees to apply directly for relief.

The directive published on Tuesday (26 May) further expands a definition of a ‘worker’ as follows:

• A contributor to the UIF; or
• An employee as defined in the Unemployment Act who should have received benefits under this directive but for circumstances beyond that employee’s control, namely that the employer failed to:
  • Register as an employer in contravention of section 10(1) of the Unemployment Insurance Contributions Act;
  • Provide details relating to the employees in contravention of section 10(3) of that Act and accordingly not registered as contributors; or
  • Pay the contributions contemplated in section 5(1) of that Act in respect of that employee.

The directive also makes provision for the payment of benefits to workers who have lost income or have been required to take annual leave in terms of section 20(10) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Expanding support 

In a separate media statement on Tuesday, Nxesi said that the UIF has now paid in excess of R15 billion to beneficiaries in the last five weeks.

This money has had a direct impact on 3 million workers, ensuring that livelihoods are protected against the devastating effects of Covid-19, he said.

“While the easing of the nationwide lockdown regulations to alert level 3 would see the economy gradually reopening, the negative impact of Covid-19 would continue to be with us for a foreseeable future.

“We expect an increase in labour-related disputes due to retrenchments and termination of employment as employers try to stay afloat. This would undoubtedly place further strain on our ability to meet our social security obligations to the public”, Nxesi said.

To this end, Nxesi said that his department will attend a NEDLAC meeting on Thursday where social partners will look at the UIF’s technical and financial capacity to continue to pay out TERS benefits ‘in the long run’.

He added that the department needs to guarantee the sustainability of funds beyond June 2020.

“We encourage employers to consult broadly when it comes to major decisions with an impact on job security such as intentions to lay-off workers. Retrenchments must be the last resort out of all the available remedies to the challenges we face.

“We also expect employers to fully cooperate with labour inspectors who continue to enforce workplace regulations to protect the welfare of workers. We go to NEDLAC trusting that we will collectively explore opportunities available to all of us as partners to resolve the multiple and immense challenges presented by the pandemic,” said Nxesi.

Read: Here’s how government’s unemployment relief fund is reaching people around South Africa