No backlog, get your papers in order, says fund

Makhosonke Buthelezi, communication and marketing director for the Unemployment Insurance Fund, said the average waiting time for a first payment was 42 days and current payout patterns did not indicate that there are any notable backlogs.

He said the fund is committed to finalise all completed applications in 35 calendar days, provided the required documents are timeously submitted. “Incomplete applications, particularly relating to declarations from employers and support documents from applicants, remains a key challenge, thus creating delays in payments.”

Buthelezi denied Virtual Office contributed to slowing down the application process. “There are isolated incidents where Virtual Office would be slow, especially in remote labour centres where the bandwidth is not sufficient and when load-shedding occurs,” he said. “Scanning is necessarily been done by the officials during official hours and the uploading or integration is done outside peak hours and within 24 hours.”

He said the fund is encouraging employers to file their declarations electronically and gradually converting them to the uFiling portal.

However, claimants need to ensure that their employment history is updated at all times, and that previous employers have terminated them from their systems upon leaving their employment.

Asked about why the fund was in surplus, Buthelezi said: “National treasury has implemented strict cost containment measures during the past years [and these] were implemented by the fund and [this] has largely contributed to the surplus.”

If a client is dissatisfied with the service at a regional office, they have the right to speak to the supervisor of the particular section. If still aggrieved, they can insist on being referred to the manager or regional head.

The matter can also be escalate to the UIF head office through the call centre on 012 337 1680 or toll free line 0800 843 843, Buthelezi said.

A revised UIF Bill is expected to be approved by Parliament this year and aims to improve unemployment insurance benefits for beneficiaries.

This is anticipated to reduce the fund’s surpluses and accumulated surpluses, he said. —