BRENTWOOD

2020-05-11

Employment and Labour Minister Nxesi guns for employers who are not passing on COVID relief benefits to workers (www.labour.gov.za: 8 May 2020 )

The Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi has come out blazing against employers who have received Unemployment Insurance Fund Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) benefits from the UIF but are not passing on the money to workers.

The UIF has been inundated with calls from workers complaining that employers have not paid them their benefits despite having received funds from the UIF.

“I want to categorically state that this is inhumane and employers who are withholding funds meant for workers must immediately release payments. We are in the midst of a global pandemic that has brought economies of countries to their knees. Workers are the worst affected by this inevitable eventuality. The worst thing you can do as an employer is to withhold funds meant for workers” , says Minister Nxesi.

The Minister says the UIF system has been upgraded to allow employees to check the status of claims submitted by their employers. Employees can access their employers’ records by entering their ID number. They will be able to see how much has been paid to the company and the specific amount paid to them as an employee.