Intervention Categories: Finance policy and financial aid; Stimulus packages and financial support
Level of Jurisdiction: National
Overview: The Government of South Africa has established a system of paying funds from the Unemployment Insurance Fund to reduce the total number of applications.
Funds will be paid to employers, sectoral associations, and bargaining councils, rather than employees as is normally the case. Employers will then pay out the benefit to employees.
The Unemployment Insurance Fund has set aside R40 billion to help employees who will be unable to work, as part of the effort to prevent job losses as a result of the lockdown.
Businesses that are considering, or have decided on, short term shutdowns will be eligible for the short term Unemployment Insurance Fund benefit, provided they register with the Fund. This means employers are required to opt into the fund, and payments made from the fund are subject to memorandums of understanding, rather than overarching government law or policy.
All funds paid out under this measure will be subject to government audit.
Full details here: https://www.gov.za/speeches/minister-thulas-nxesi-labour-arrangements-during-coronavirus-covid-19-lockdown-28-mar-2020