UIF BILL

To amend the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1966 (Act No. 30 of 1966) in order to bring the stipulations pertaining to maternity benefits in line with the period of maternity leave provided for in section 25 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (Act No. 75 of 1997), to provide for the principle that the payment of maternity benefits should not adversely affect a contributor's right to receive unemployment or illness benefits, to delete the "one third" rule with regards to the payment of maternity benefits, to provide for the imposition of stricter measures in cases where employers fail to pay contributions, to provide for the recovery from defaulting employers of amounts paid by the Unemployment Insurance Fund; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

BE IT ENACTED by the President and the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows :-

Amendment of section 29 of Act 30 of 1966, as amended by Section 2 (a) of Act 29 of 1977, Section 12 of Act 9 of 1979, Proclamation R.193 of 25 October 1985, Government Notice R.2392 of 14 November 1986, Proclamation R.129 of 1992 and Government Notice 1638 of 27 August 1993.

1. Section 29 of the Principle Act is hereby amended by the addition of the following subsections:

"(11)(a) If a person (the mandator) in the course of or for the purposes of his business enters into an agreement with any other person (the contractor) for the execution by or under the supervision of the contractor of the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the mandator, the contractor shall, in respect of contributors employed in the execution of the work concerned, register as an employer in accordance with the provisions of this Act and pay the necessary contributions.

(b) If a contractor fails so to register or pay the necessary contributions, the contributors employed by the contractor shall be deemed to be contributors employed by the mandator, and the mandator shall pay the contributions in respect of those contributors.

(12) If a mandator has paid contributions for which he would not have been liable but for the provisions of subsection (11), such mandator may recover such contributions from the contractor.

(13) If a mandator has in terms of this section paid contributions, he may set off the amount so paid by him against his debt to the contractor.

(14) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the Director-General may recover contributions from the contractor instead of from the mandator, and if the full amount cannot be recovered from the one, the shortfall can be recovered from the other."

Amendment of section 31 of Act 30 of 1966, as amended by Proclamation R. 129 of 1992.

2. Section 31 of the Principal Act is hereby substituted for the following section:

"31. Failure to pay contributions or other moneys

(1) If an employer fails to pay contributions or any other payment in accordance with this Act, the Director-General may impose a fine at the prescribed percentage on the outstanding amount.

(2) If an employer fails to transmit to the Director-General within the prescribed period any statement, information or particulars prescribed under section 30 or under any regulation relating to information of particulars to be furnished by an employer liable to contribute to the fund under this Act, the Director-General may determine the amount of the contributions payable by the employer, and the amount so determined shall be deemed to be the amount of the contributions due to the fund by that employer for the purpose of imposing a fine under this Act or of fixing the amount of a claim to be lodged against a deceased or insolvent estate or against a company in liquidation.

(3) If an employer who entered into a contract of service or of apprenticeship or learnership with a contributor, failed to contribute to the fund in respect of the period of employment under such a contract of service or of apprenticeship or learnership, and the contributor thereafter claims benefits under this Act or a dependent of the contributor applies for a payment in terms of section 38 of this Act, the fund shall meet its obligations to pay benefits to the contributor or to make a payment in terms of section 38: Provided that the fund shall have a recourse to recover from the defaulting employer the entire amount of such benefits paid or payments made.

(4) An employer who refuses or fails to pay any contribution or fine referred to in this section or any other money payable in terms of this Act, shall be guilty of an offence.

(5) (a) If an employer fails to pay any amount due to the fund in terms of this section, the Director-General may issue an order in the prescribed form for the payment thereof.

(b) The Director-General shall send a certified copy of the order referred to in paragraph (a) to the clerk of the magistrate's court of the district in which that employer is resident or where he has his place of business, and thereupon such order shall have the effect of a civil judgment of that magistrate's court, and the Director-General shall have all the powers of a judgment creditor.

(6) (a) An employer aggrieved by the imposition upon him of a fine under subsection (1) may appeal to the Minister against such fine, provided the appeal is lodged in writing within fourteen days after the date on which the employer concerned is notified of the imposition of that fine.

(b) The Minister may, on any such appeal -

(i) waive the fine in whole or in part; or  (ii) increase the fine; or

(ii) dismiss the appeal.

(7) (a) An employer aggrieved by the recovery of an amount in terms of subsection (3) may appeal to the Minister against such recovery, provided the appeal is lodged in writing within fourteen days after the date on which the employer concerned is notified of the decision to recover the amount.

(b) The Minister may, on any such appeal -

(i) waive the recovery of the amount in whole or in part; or

(ii) dismiss the appeal."

Amendment of section 34 of Act 30 of 1966, as amended by Sections 13 and 14 of Act 9 of 1979, Proclamation R.99 of 1994, Section 9 of Act 130 of 1992, Sections 3 and 4 of Act 36 of 1987 and Section 1 of Act 102 of 1987.

3. Section 34 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition of the following proviso to the end of subsection (4) :

" :Provided that the above-mentioned shall not apply in respect of payments made in accordance with section 37 and that such payments shall be based on 17 weeks' benefits for each completed 13 weeks' employment as a contributor."

4. Section 34 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition of the following proviso to subsection (5) :

" :Provided that a contributor shall not be entitled to receive maternity benefits for more than seventeen weeks within any period of fifty-two consecutive weeks, but that the contributor may within such period also receive other benefits provided for in terms of the Act for a maximum period of twenty-six weeks. "

Amendment of section 37 of Act 30 of 1966, as amended by Sections 17 of Act 9 of 1979, Section 4 of Act 1 of 1981, Sections 11(b) and 11(c) of Act 1 of 1982, Sections 5(a) and (b) of Act 36 of 1987 and Section 4 of Act 29 of 1988.

5. Section 37 of the Principle Act is hereby amended by the substitution of subsection (6) for the following subsection:

"(6) For the purposes of this section a female contributor shall be deemed to have become unemployed on the date upon which her contract of service or apprenticeship or learnership

was terminated or, notwithstanding that her services have not been terminated, shall be deemed to be unemployed if she is on maternity leave: Provided that the rate at which benefits are payable shall, in the case of a contributor who receives from her employer more than one-third of her normal earnings in respect of any period referred to in subsection (1), be

proportionately reduced so that the total amount received in terms of the Act and from her employer does not exceed 78 % of her normal earnings."

Amendment of section 62 of Act 30 of 1966, as amended by Section 17 of Act 1 of 1982, Section 9 of Act 27 of 1986, Section 8 of Act 36 of 1987 and Section 5 of Act 29 of 1988.

6. Section 62 of the Principle Act is hereby amended by the substitution of subsection (1)(f) for the following subsection:

" (f) the prescribed fine in terms of section 31;"

Short title and commencement

7. This Act shall be called the Unemployment Insurance Amendment Act, 1998, and shall come into operation on a date fixed by the President by proclamation in the Gazette.