LATEST RULES: Has Your Company closed due to Covid-19? Claim for your Employees now!

Mar 30, 2020 | Taxation Blog

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The UIF disaster benefit will now be run through TERS system – it is longer a ‘side option’ for UIF itself and the whole UIF Easy-guide has now been removed from the Labour.gov.za website.

Covid-19 Temporary Relief Scheme: 

  • Should an employer as a result of COVID-19 pandemic close its operations for 3 months or lesser period and suffer financial distress, the company shall qualify for Covid-19 Temporary Relief Benefit.
  • Benefits will only pay for the cost of salary for the employees during the temporary closure of the business operations.
  • Salary benefits will be capped to a R17 712 maximum per month per employee and an employee will be paid in terms of the income replacement rate sliding scale (38%-60%) per the UI Act.
  • Should an employee’s income in terms of the income replacement scale fall below the minimum wage of the sector concerned, the employee will be paid a replacement income equal to the minimum wage of the respective sector concerned.
  • For the company to qualify for the temporary financial relief scheme, it must satisfy the following requirements:
    • The company must be registered with the UIF,
    • The company must comply with the application procedure for the financial relief scheme; and
    • The company’s closure must directly be linked to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
  • Step 1 – Application process
      • Companies are to report their closure to Covid19ters@labour.gov.za – to follow the automated email response outlining the application process.
      • Employers are required to furnish the UIF with the following documents:
  • Letter of authority from the company (on an official company letterhead grant­ing permission to an individual specified to lodge a claim on behalf of the company).
  • Signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) from the employer or Bargaining Council with the UIF.
  • Prescribed template (sent by TERS) which will require critical information from the employer.
  • Evidence/payroll as proof of the last 3 months employee salaries (all staff).
  • Confirmation of bank account details – certified latest bank statement.

(All documents submitted will be subject to verification)

      • Any employee who is being paid by the employer during this period is not entitled to this benefit – this is a comment in the Government Gazette but nothing mentioned in the Easy-aid document.
  • Step 2 – Submission of documents
      • Submit/transmit all documents as required in Step 1 to UIF via dedicated mailbox Covid19claims@labour.gov.za
      • NB: If the spreadsheet is complete; valid and accurate, it will be dumped into an automated calculator to produce the benefit amount due to the beneficiaries and the total amount to be trans­ferred to the employer or bargaining council (or whichever method agreed).
  • Step 3 – Conclusion
      • Conclusion of the MOA between the parties.
      • Payment will only be effected after the MOA is signed off between the Fund and the Employer/Bargaining Council.
    • Enquiries – The UIF has provided a dedicated line that will assist all employer/em­ployees/Bargaining Councils on COVID19TERS. The contact number is 012 337 1997.

Please contact me for assistance with any of the above.

For further details of this and other Covid-19 information,
please see our dedicated website page on

https://www.mdacc.co.za/index.php/covid-19/


Example of TERS information required (TERS application)

CLICK HERE!