New Feature: COVID-19 TERS CSV Export

Update 23 April: We have received word that the termination date is in fact needed in the CSV (after being told to leave it out) and are doing the update as a top priority. In the meantime you can populate the termination date field before downloading the CSV and use our “copy down” functionality if the date is the same for all employees. We have received confirmation that the TERS benefit paid by employers to their employees will not be subject to PAYE, SDL or UIF. You may pay this amount off-system if you choose, but we recommend waiting until we have updated our system to include a new TERS benefit item. We will send out a notification when the system has been updated.

Update 8 April: We have made the change to include the additional “Preferred Payment Medium” column to the CSV file.

Update 7 April: The first paragraph has been amended to correctly reflect the situation regarding the Labour Centre closures during lockdown. It was reiterated on this morning’s news rather than announced as earlier stated. We sincerely apologise for any confusion or inconvenience the earlier version may have caused.

Our promised update of generating the CSV file required to claim the COVID-19 TERS benefit* is now live. With Labour Centres across the country being closed during the lockdown, the UIF’s capacity to process individual employee claims is under severe pressure. With this in mind, we’ve been advised that all employers who are able to apply for the COVID-19 TERS benefit, rather than having employees claim UIF, are urged to go the TERS route instead.*

*A quick note on COVID-19 TERS vs UIF

To the best of our knowledge and based on advice we received this morning (7 April), it seems that wherever possible, employers are encouraged to apply for TERS rather than having employees go through UIF. The benefit can be paid to the employer or Bargaining Council for distribution to employees. An audit will also be conducted at a later stage to ensure employees received their designated funds. As of this afternoon (7 April), the benefits can also be paid directly to employees.

This shift to TERS claims will effectively allow for consolidated claims on behalf of employees rather than many thousands of claims from individual employees, which will hopefully reduce strain on the UIF and allow for some measure of effectiveness in paying out benefits.

Any more detailed advice or queries are unfortunately outside the scope of our knowledge and expertise so we still recommend contacting the UIF call centre (0800 843 843) or TERS hotline (012 337 1997).

Back to the COVID-19 TERS CSV

Update 16 April: The email application is now obsolete. A new online application is now available. Read more here.

General information on the COVID-19 TERS initiative is contained in our 31 March post on Support for Business – COVID-19 TERS  – a reminder from this prior post that all the requirements for an application can be obtained by sending an email to covid19ters@labour.gov.za. *****

One of the requirement that is contained in the above-mentioned email response, is the completion of a CSV file of employer and employee information. The CSV file can be downloaded from the COVID-19 Exports section of the Bulk Actions page.

Exporting from SimplePay

To complete the form and download the CSV, go to Employees > Bulk Actions. Then click on Temporary Employer / Employee Relief Scheme CSV under COVID-19 Exports.

You will note that we have pre-populated as much information as possible to speed up the process; however some manual inputs are still required. Most pre-populated inputs can also be edited if necessary. Please see the below table for details:

Ensure that you carefully complete all sections of this form, as the file will be rejected if there are blank fields. Any incomplete or incorrect sections will disrupt the UIF’s automated process, resulting in considerable delay

Please note that there is currently no validation process in place. It is important to verify all information is correct in both accuracy and format.

Once everything has been completed correctly, you can download the CSV File.

Submitting your Application

Update 16 April: The email application is now obsolete. A new online application is now available. Read more here.

Once you have completed and exported the CSV as above, you will need to ensure that you complete and collate all the other required documents.** All of these should then be sent via email to  Covid19UIFclaims@labour.gov.za in order to submit your application.

Completion and approval

After you have submitted your application, it will be reviewed by the Fund and its representatives. 

Once the MOA** has been signed off by both the Fund and the Employer, successful applications will then be concluded. Payment will only be made after this point.

**Required Documentation: due to the speed at which the Government is having to adapt and release updates, we are unfortunately unable to list the requirements here. You will need to either wait for a reply to your email to covid19ters@labour.gov.za or contact the TERS hotline (listed at the beginning of this post).

Should you have any queries over the content or processes to follow within this blog, please feel free to contact our support team via support@simplepay.co.za.

Keep well. Stay home. Stay safe.

Team SimplePay