Companies That Illegally Used TERS Funds Could Be Audited, Face Legal Action
- Businesses that applied for and received the Covid-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme could be facing trouble
- Companies could possibly undergo audits to find out where the money went and if it had been paid appropriately
- Possible legal action could be taken against employers who illegally benefited from the Covid-19 TERS
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Companies who were recipients of the Covid-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) could be approached for audit.
The auditors will conduct investigations and examine the authenticity of the TERS claims by reviewing the financial records of employers and confirming whether the money received was correctly paid to the right employees.
Legal action will be initiated and employers will be obliged to respond if it is discovered through the audits that the companies have illegally benefited from the TERS payments.
Source: Getty Images
Companies who requested and received the Temporary Employer-Employee Relief must pose the requested information should the auditors start the audits.
According to UIF Director of Provisional Support Allan Ragavaloo, the fund intends to issue out letters to businesses whose applications triggered an alert on the system, these letters are intended to give advice to businesses as to what they can do to complete their application, as per reports by News24.
Moneyweb reported that the lack of compliance towards the request for information by the due date could lead to severe repercussions with the UIF and other authorities.
In other business news, Briefly News recently reported that business formations representing different sectors in the economy of South Africa addressed Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour regarding the Employment Equity Amendment Bill.
It claimed that it needed to have a clause for appropriate sector-by-sector consultation in order for the bill to work.
The amendments to the Employment Equity Act of 1998 aim to allow the Minister of Employment and Labour to set targets in specific sectors with the intention of accelerating transformation in each sector, and inevitably the economy.
Business Unity SA's Chair of Social Policy Kaizer Moyane stated that the requirement to consult all sectors was left out of the Amendment Bill despite there being an agreement reached among all social partners of the National Economic Development and Labour Council.
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Source: Briefly News
