Labour department extends Covid-19 Ters benefit to September 15

The Covid-19 temporary employee/employer relief scheme (Ters) benefit has been extended to September 15, the department of labour said on Monday.

“With the lockdown for some industries extended to September 15, it only makes sense for us to continue to shield workers from the worst effects of the pandemic by extending the relief payments, which have placed much needed cash into the hands of ordinary workers in this country,” said labour minister Thulas Nxesi.

The department said the UIF would continue to receive applications for the March-July 2020 period until September 15.

No further applications would be accepted beyond that date.

“The receipt of Covid-19 Ters benefit applications for August to September 15 shall close on October 30 and no further applications shall be accepted beyond that date,” the department said.

“To date, the UIF has disbursed over R41bn in 9,501,365 payments through applications by 825,814 employers.”

Payments were halted for 24 hours in August after the auditor-general’s office “observed some control deficiencies and anomalies” in the online payment system.

By Nomahlubi Jordaan