Here’s when UIF Fund will resume COVID-19 Ters payments

The Department of Labour announced earlier this week that the COVID-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) has been extended until 30 October, but the system was temporarily suspended.

We reported earlier that any outstanding payments and new applications for the period since August will still be valid up until the end of the month, following intense scrutiny over the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) irregularities.

COVID-19 Ters payments: Latest update

The Department of Labour on Saturday 19 September said that it is “all systems go” for UIF to resume its eagerly awaited COVID-19 Ters Benefits payments”. Marsha Bronkhorst, Acting UIF Commissioner explained:

“We plan a payment run for all outstanding payments for April, May and June 2020 on Monday and Tuesday. After that, we will plan to run payments for 1 July to 15 August 2020 period from Wednesday 23 to Saturday 26 September 2020”.

They are “aware that many workers around the country have been placed on a back foot as a result of the need to ensure that our systems stand up to scrutiny and we close the gaps identified by the Auditor General”.

She said they are pleased “things have turned around” speedily; the department is now “ready to make a difference in the lives of the workers again”. The Fund has scheduled multiple payment runs for the rest of next week.

Competent claims

Bronkhorst explained the importance of submitting competent claims as incomplete claims or “claims where there is information that is still outstanding from employers” won’t be automatically processed.

“We still have claims that are yet to be processed in the system because of outstanding information. We urge employers to submit this information and we have made it easier for them to know what is still outstanding by developing the Discrepancy Tab in the system and they can also use FAQs on the DEL website”.

Lastly, the Fund also urges employers and employees who have not yet applied for Ters benefits to “be mindful of the application closing dates for a period between April to September”.

When will Ters payments resume?

As per the statement on 19 September, Ters payment will resume on Monday, 21 September 2020. The dates are set out as follows:

• COVID-19 Ters benefit applications for March 2020 to end May 2020 shall close on 25 September 2020, and no further applications for that period, shall be accepted beyond that date.
• COVID-19 Ters benefit applications for June 2020 shall close on 15 October 2020, and no further applications for that period, shall be accepted beyond that date.
• COVID-19 Ters benefit applications for July to 15 September 2020 shall close 30 October 2020, and no further applications for that period, shall be accepted beyond that date.

Any claims already submitted will not be affected by the closing dates and will be settled once any outstanding information is submitted, the Department of Labour said.