Bogus applications delaying UIF relief payments for June
|Published
DELAY: The UIF is forced to sift through fake applications DELAY: The UIF is forced to sift through fake applications
The Unemployment Insurance Fund says it’s struggling to pay out TERS relief claims because it is sifting through thousands of bogus applications.
As it winds down its multibillion-rand campaign of financial support for workers in South Africa hit in the pocket by the Coronavirus pandemic, thousands of claims have been fraudulently launched by companies for dead individuals and non-existent staff, the UIF said on Monday.
So far, the UIF, an entity of the Department of Employment and Labour, has paid out R31 billion in 6 900 391 payments.
“We have been assailed in certain quarters - sometimes deservedly so - for not paying on time, but in reality we have had to ensure that the system is not taken advantage of,” said UIF commissioner Teboho Maruping.
“Through the vetting, we have been able to establish that there were at least over 4000 claims - April (2729) and May (1944) - were lodged on behalf of deceased persons and the thorough vetting that has been instituted has picked up all these anomalies.”
ISSUE: Teboho Maruping of UIF
Besides claims lodged for the dead, the UIF also received nearly 100 000 claims using invalid ID numbers.
In addition, it said some employees were not registered with the UIF and has to be verified with SARS.
In some cases it has not received cooperation from the employers, which raised eyebrows on whether those workers were really employed at these companies.
“Unfortunately, the regulations were clear right from the beginning that a company or entity had to have been registered for UIF before the 15th of March 2020, but in April 18,648 claims were lodged and 3,052 in May. These cannot be processed.”
The extra vetting means that instead of paying in 24 hours, the minimum time now is 48 hours.
African News Agency