All applicants who met the criteria to receive Government unemployment benefits have been paid, the Ministry of Finance said today.

But a ministry spokeswoman added that more than 500 applications had still not been verified by employers, while more than 200 applications were also still missing important documents such as photo ID and bank statements.

The spokeswoman said: “The Ministry of Finance encourages applicants to work with their employers to confirm that all the necessary verification documents are in place to ensure their application is complete and submitted for review.

“Individuals must confirm their employment status before receiving additional payments. E-mail reminders have been sent to all relevant persons in this regard.

“The Ministry is aware of situations where these e-mails have ended up in people's spam or junk folders, so please check. These persons should respond as quickly as possible to these e-mails to allow for the timely calculation and delivery of additional payments.”

Curtis Dickinson, the Minister of Finance, confirmed on Wednesday that 900 of the almost 4,000 applicants who submitted claims last month had not been paid.

But he insisted that 300 of these applicants had not been filled out correctly and that the remaining 600 could not be processed because they had not been verified by employers.

Unemployment benefits are available to those who meet the necessary criteria in the following categories:

• Staff at bars, members clubs and night clubs under the Public Treasury (Administration and Payments) (Temporary Unemployment Benefit) (No. 3) Regulations 2021

• Staff affected by the mandatory closure of entertainment venues, spas and gyms under the Public Treasury (Administration and Payments) (Temporary Unemployment Benefit) (No. 4) Regulations 2021

• Staff of other businesses under the Public Treasury (Administration and Payments) (Temporary Unemployment Benefit) (No. 5) Regulations 2021

• People under mandatory medical quarantine through the Public Health (Covid-19 Emergency Powers) and are unable to work from home.

Those who are eligible to receive unemployment benefits can apply on uba.gov.bm.

Anyone with further questions should e-mail unemploymentbenefitsteam@gov.bm