Following a spike in public complaints about fake employers, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) issued a warning to job seekers to be cautious with their identifying numbers.
According to the UIF, fake employers registered applicants with the fund and filed claims for the COVID-19 TERS benefit and, in certain cases, unemployment benefits using the applicants’ identifying numbers.
The majority of the complaints, according to a statement released on Tuesday by the Department of Employment and Labor, started when many persons filed for the Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD), an R350 grant provided by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).
However, because they were registered with the UIF, their claims were rejected.
According to the department, “These are primarily learners/students who are recruited for ‘learnerships’ and whose studies are reportedly funded for R3 500.
The R3 500 was never paid to the learners but ended up being classified as their monthly pay when claiming UIF.”
According to the department, students are hired for the UIF’s regular training programs via the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) work seekers’ online site run by the Department of Employment and Labour.
ESSA connects jobless persons with options for work and training.
Teboho Maruping, the commissioner of the UIF, stated that the fund has many training programs under the Labour Activation Programs as part of its efforts to develop work possibilities and up-skill young people (LAP).
Through LAP, the UIF collaborates with educational facilities to up-skill trainees in a variety of industries, including hospitality, aviation, administration, agriculture, and security, among others, opening doors to employment.
“The UIF offers a monthly stipend, which is not a salary and should not have UIF deductions linked to it, to support the trainees participating in the program,” Maruping stated.
According to Maruping, the Department of Employment and Labour’s provincial Risk Management Units initiated many investigations after receiving these complaints and have already identified some of the phoney employers.
“However, due to ongoing investigations, the fund is unable to mention them at this time.
We may note that some of these businesses are located in Kwazulu-Natal while others are spread out across the nation.
Maruping continued, “In addition, the fund has implemented the payment verification process to examine the legitimacy and existence of employees, which will help us hunt down all the phoney employers.
This month marks the start of Phase 2 of COVID-19 TERS’s “follow the money project,” which will give priority to employers who have declared fraudulent employees.
Maruping stated that all employees on the corporate payroll will be subject to an end-to-end audit procedure by the authorized audit firms against all UIF claims made by the business.
Criminal proceedings will be filed with the South African Police Service against any business found to be cheating the UIF.
The general public is encouraged to report these fraudulent practices at their local labor center, via email at Fraud@labour.gov.za (link sends e-mail), or by calling the National Anti-Corruption Hotline at (800) 701-701.