Durban - The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) paid out nearly R1 billion to 180 833 beneficiaries in December after it decentralised its u-Filing claims from Pretoria to provinces.
According to the UIF, decentralising the u-Filing claims has resulted in applications being processed faster and ensured that beneficiaries were able to provide for their families this festive season.
Makhosonke Buthelezi, the spokesperson for the UIF said the decentralisation process had drastically reduced the online claims backlog from 111 000 in September 2021 to 28 000 in November 2021, and currently, there were 3701 claims submitted via its uFiling system that could not be paid due to various reasons including:
- Termination dates were not captured on UI.19 forms;
- Client’s banking information and details differ from that of the Department of Home Affairs (clients must submit UI.2.8 and UI.49 forms);
- Requests for payments or continuation forms are submitted before a claim is approved (request for payments or continuation form must be submitted after a claim is approved); and
- Salary Schedules, Medical Certificates and Leave Income (UI.2.7 form) are not uploaded for illness and Maternity Benefits.
The Fund is again appealing to applicants to correct the errors and submit the missing information so that claims can be processed immediately when payments resume next Monday, 3 January 2022.
The UIF has also been continuing with payments of Covid-19 TERS Relief Scheme and Workers Affected by the Unrest (WABU). Since the inception of the Covid-19 TERS Relief Scheme in March 2020 to date, the Fund has disbursed R63,8 billion, bringing relief to at least 5.4 million people.
The figure is the biggest amount that has been paid by the government to help workers, businesses and to mitigate the negative impact of the Covid-19 restrictions on the South African economy, Buthelezi said.
However, there are 119 091 payments which are in abeyance awaiting corrections due to various unresolved errors, namely:
- Failed bank verification;
- Unverified foreign nationals;
- Employees not declared on the UIF; and
- Incorrect ID numbers.
"The Fund appreciates the work done by employers who have heeded our pleas to correct errors throughout the year and enabled us to pay their claims which significantly reduced the number of unpaid competent claims. While all valid Covid-19 TERS claims have been paid, we will continue from 3 January 2022 to pay the unresolved claims once corrections have been made. Therefore, we urge employers to correct the errors on the Covid-19 TERS portal and furnish outstanding information to enable us to pay if the claims are valid. The portal also guides the applicant on how to resolve each error," said Acting UIF Commissioner, Advocate Mzie Yawa.
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