On the 21st July in the House of Assembly, Minister of Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration, Hon. Vincent Wheatley, gave an update on the current status of the Territory’s unemployment/underemployment benefits programme.
Hon. Wheatley revealed that a total of 7,650 claims were filed with the BVI Social Security Board.
It was reported that only 1,738 of the 7,650 claims have been paid to date. Hon. Wheatley explained that the delay in processing is due to the level detail required in such process.
During his address he stated “The underemployed claims are taking more time to process because of the intricacies involved, such as researching information to verify the claim, and calculating the level of unemployment as persons get paid varying amounts from one month to the next in some cases.”
It was first indicated that all persons must pay 13 of 20 contributions weeks immediately before March 30th 2020 to qualify for unemployment/underemployment benefits. It was announced by Minster Wheatley that persons can now qualify, if they are not up to date with their contributions, once persons can present the relevant documents.
He further said “Persons whose contributions are not up to date; Social Security has been calling those persons. The Board has been requesting that those persons submit their pay slips, any proof of employment, or encourage their employer to pay their outstanding contributions…. It is important to note that a claim cannot be denied due to non-payment of contribution.”
Hon. Wheatley expressed, in his opinion, the methods have been working well and claims are being adjusted and paid.
In the 2nd phase of the economic stimulus, the Government of the Virgin Islands allocated $10 million dollars to unemployment/underemployment benefits amidst COVID-19. To date the Government of the Virgin Islands through the Social Security Board have paid out $2,421,238.32 in benefits.