Extended COVID-19 TERS relief for certain categories of employees

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The Department of Labour has announced that the extended period from 16 October 2020 to 31 December 2020  is now open. The claims for the period 1 January 2021 to 15 March 2021 will be opened at a later stage.

Please note that only certain categories of employees can claim TERS under this amended TERS directive:

• “Phase 1” – Employees who are on temporary lay-off or Reduced Work Time within specified sectors (Specified Sectors are Tourism & Hospitality; Arts, Entertainment and Recreation; Liquor and Service Providers who place employees in these specified sectors) that have not been able to operate due to regulatory restrictions as per the direction issued.  The Employer will be required to provide their business’ Sector Industry Classification (SIC) to allow UIF to verify eligibility of TERS claims

• “Phase 2” (not yet available/open for claims) – Employees in all sectors who were:
  • Required to self-isolate or quarantine to prevent the spread of Covid19
  • Age of 60 and above and who could not be reasonably accommodated in the workplace
  • With co-morbidities and who could not be reasonably accommodated in the workplace

With “Phase 2” the Employer will be required to provide supporting documentation to allow UIF to verify eligibility of TERS claims – this will be communicated once the Department of Labour opens the claims for this period.

Any affected employees who do not fall into the above-mentioned categories and are therefore NOT eligible to receive TERS benefits under the extension conditions, are able to access relief under the current Unemployment Insurance Act Section 12(1B), should they have credits available.

We can assist you should you still require assistance with TERS applications and/or queries that may have arisen with your application.

Note that most of the rejected TERS applications have arisen due to u-filing errors rather than the actual TERS applications. Did you know that you are required to register each employee separately on u-filing even if you (as the employer) have registered with SARS for Employees Tax, UIF and SDL levies? We can also assist you with this u-filing requirement which is critical for any TERS or UIF claims.

We are here to assist you with the administrative support for the submission of the TERS or U-filing claims so don’t miss out on this opportunity to take advantage of this crucial initiative that enables you to obtain some relief for your employees during this lockdown.

Please contact me to help you with this relief or u-filing applications as we are here to assist you to navigate this challenging period in your business.