TERS was created to assist employees who have lost income because of COVID-19 and the regulations limiting economic activity during the different lockdown levels.
Eligibility for benefits is limited to employees whose normal monthly remuneration has been reduced because they are:
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not permitted to commence operations, either partially or in full, in terms of the Regulations published
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unable to make alternative arrangements for vulnerable employees to work from home or take other measures
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unable to make use of their services either fully or partially because of operational requirements based on the economic, technological, structural or similar needs of the employer caused by compliance with the regulations, in particular, the need to limit the number of employees at the workplace through rostering, staggering of working hours, short time, and the introduction of shift systems
COVID-19 TERS is not intended to subsidize the payroll of an Employer.
Employees who have received their full income/salary are not entitled to TERS benefits.
COVID-19 TERS is not intended to supplement an Employee’s income, meaning Employees are not entitled to TERS benefits if it means they would take home more than their monthly salary/wages.
Overpayment must be refunded to the UIF within the time frames set out in the memorandum of understanding (MOA).
The UIF will conduct audits in regards to TERS payouts to ensure the payments were made in line with the Directions.
Example of calculating the benefit:
If the remuneration earned plus the sliding scale benefit is more than the ordinary salary, the benefit is reduced accordingly (the effect of clause 5.3)
Example 1:
If a domestic worker’s ordinary salary is R3 000 and the domestic worker receives remuneration of R3 000, then the benefit = R500
Example 2
If an employee’s ordinary salary is R20 000 then the UIF sliding scale is R6 800 (based on the R17 712 ceiling). If the remuneration earned by the employee is R15 000, then the benefit is R5 000 (because the total of the remuneration earned plus the sliding scale benefit will be more than the employee’s ordinary remuneration)
Download the Revised Explanatory Note here.
Download the TERS Update Letter 16.09.2020 here.
Download the government gazette here.
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