By TYLER RIDDIN and BHONGO JACOB
After 14 years of hard work, 59-year-old gardener Ntsodoyi Dlova was devastated to learn that all he was entitled to receive from the Unemployment Insurance Fund was R400.
Crippled by ill health, throughout the course of this year, Dlova has been retrenched from his part-time gardening jobs which kept him occupied for over a decade.
However, only one of his four employers had registered him for UIF.
“I applied for the UIF in January this year and around June, I received a lump sum of R400,” he said. “When I went to check with the department of labour again, an official there told me that there was no more money for me to claim because I worked only one day a week for my employer.”
However, he said he had worked for three more people around East London’s suburbs.
“It is sad to have to work for so many years only to be so little at the end of my service,” said Dlova.
Dlova’s former employer for the past 14 years, who did not want to be named, said: “I have been paying into his UIF since 2004 when it first came out.
“He would work for me once a week and received R190 a day.
“ I paid four times 2% of his monthly earning into his fund. When he filled his application, he was given only R400 and was told that that was all the money he would get.
“I contacted the labour department and eventually got told that the reason he only received R400 was because he only had 30 credits. He was a very good gardener and worked hard,” said the employer.
“Unfortunately his health has been deteriorating for the past year. He has bad knees and is getting sores on his legs. We tried to get him a grant from the health department but got turned down as they said that his pain could be managed with medication. The poor man has had to limp around for a year now until he is old enough to apply for his pension.”
Dlova said he was laid off by one of his former employers due to his poor health.
“My health is weak and I also have a problem with my knee, so my boss said I must stop working.”
Provincial communications manager for the department of labour Ziphozihle Josefu explained: “UIF beneficiaries’ credits are calculated based on the four years of service prior to applying for UIF benefits. It does not take into account all 14 years.
“ the applicant was working four days a month or 48 days per year, and you are paid one credit for every six days worked.
“Mr Dlova was paid R190 per day. Multiply this by four days and it equals R760. His average salary was R740 and his daily benefit was calculated as R13.77. Multiply that by 30 days credits and it equals R413.11. We are paying for the four-year cycle as per the UI Act.”
Dlova has to wait another 11 months to become eligible for a state pension.
He said his only hope was in another of his former employers who has promised to pay him R300 every month until he becomes eligible for a pension.
UIF payout not coming up roses for gardener
After 14 years of hard work, 59-year-old gardener Ntsodoyi Dlova was devastated to learn that all he was entitled to receive from the Unemployment Insurance Fund was R400.
Crippled by ill health, throughout the course of this year, Dlova has been retrenched from his part-time gardening jobs which kept him occupied for over a decade.
However, only one of his four employers had registered him for UIF.
“I applied for the UIF in January this year and around June, I received a lump sum of R400,” he said. “When I went to check with the department of labour again, an official there told me that there was no more money for me to claim because I worked only one day a week for my employer.”
However, he said he had worked for three more people around East London’s suburbs.
“It is sad to have to work for so many years only to be so little at the end of my service,” said Dlova.
Dlova’s former employer for the past 14 years, who did not want to be named, said: “I have been paying into his UIF since 2004 when it first came out.
“He would work for me once a week and received R190 a day.
“ I paid four times 2% of his monthly earning into his fund. When he filled his application, he was given only R400 and was told that that was all the money he would get.
“I contacted the labour department and eventually got told that the reason he only received R400 was because he only had 30 credits. He was a very good gardener and worked hard,” said the employer.
“Unfortunately his health has been deteriorating for the past year. He has bad knees and is getting sores on his legs. We tried to get him a grant from the health department but got turned down as they said that his pain could be managed with medication. The poor man has had to limp around for a year now until he is old enough to apply for his pension.”
Dlova said he was laid off by one of his former employers due to his poor health.
“My health is weak and I also have a problem with my knee, so my boss said I must stop working.”
Provincial communications manager for the department of labour Ziphozihle Josefu explained: “UIF beneficiaries’ credits are calculated based on the four years of service prior to applying for UIF benefits. It does not take into account all 14 years.
“ the applicant was working four days a month or 48 days per year, and you are paid one credit for every six days worked.
“Mr Dlova was paid R190 per day. Multiply this by four days and it equals R760. His average salary was R740 and his daily benefit was calculated as R13.77. Multiply that by 30 days credits and it equals R413.11. We are paying for the four-year cycle as per the UI Act.”
Dlova has to wait another 11 months to become eligible for a state pension.
He said his only hope was in another of his former employers who has promised to pay him R300 every month until he becomes eligible for a pension.
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