TERS FAQs – December 2020
The following FAQs have been created based on information found in the UIF’s 15 and 18 December TERS update letters. They are purely for informational purposes. If you have any further questions off the back of the FAQs, please contact the UIF on 0800 212 799.
I’m waiting for my application to be processed; when will this be completed?¶
The UIF re-ran all pending applications for the lockdown TERS periods over the weekend of 19 December, meaning that your application may have been processed then.
If it has not been, the UIF is now processing TERS periods on a weekly cycle to pick up the applications which have been corrected. Your applications will only be processed once any error message present has been resolved. The weekly schedule is:
| Monday | 27 March to 30 April and 1 to 31 May 2020 |
| Tuesday | 1 to 30 June 2020 |
| Wednesday | 1 July to 15 August 2020 |
| Thursday | 16 August to 15 September 2020 |
| Friday | 16 September to 15 October 2020 |
| Saturday | Discrepancies for all periods |
The CSV that I used resulted in no employees appearing on the TERS portal. What can I do?¶
The CSV that SimplePay generates for you has been extremely successful in aiding our clients with their applications and we haven’t heard of such issues. Therefore, if you are new to SimplePay, why not give out automatically generated CSV a go?
However, if you have experienced this issue whilst using the SimplePay CSV, please get in touch with us so that we can assist you with completing the submission.
What are discrepancies in relation to my application and how might they be caused?¶
Discrepancies are occurrences where your employee has received less TERS benefits amounts than they are entitled to. This can often be the result of the information which informs the amount of benefits your employees receive being incorrectly submitted. Instead of resubmitting, there is a discrepancy process you can follow to ensure your employee gets the correct amount.
Discrepancies for the 16 August to 15 September and 16 September to 15 October application periods have been added to the Discrepancies tab in the TERS portal. You can make amendments on the TERS portal throughout the festive period, but any amendments you make will likely only be processed in the new year.
You can read more about discrepancies and what may cause them in this UIF letter from 10 August 2020.
I have an error that says something about integration with the TERS financial system. What does it mean?¶
While doing some recent updates to the TERS platform, the UIF introduced two new validation messages
- “TERS Vendor integration could not be done with financial system”, which can result from * Your Vendor ID having a discrepancy for one of the payment cycles. Once TERS financial reconciliation is complete, the ID will be processed. * Your bank details have been verified, but manually, meaning that your payment will be done separately to the automatic process. * The employee in question is a foreigner and so will be paid separately to the automated process.
- “TERS Payment integration could not be done with financial system”, can be as a result of an ID failing bank verification, or being down as someone who’s recorded as deceased.
Neither error message requires any action on your part at this stage. They should be resolved in the reconciliation process, after which your claim should be processed, or a more specific error descriptor will appear.
How can I get each individual employee’s refund amount recorded on the TERS system?¶
Developments to the online portal now allow you to view the refunds you’ve made to the UIF. However, if for any reason you need to record the amount refunded per employee, you need to complete a template spreadsheet with the relevant information and return this to the UIF.
You should have received the template, instructions on how to submit the amounts refunded per employee and the update letter from the UIF by email on 19 December 2020. If you did not receive the email, but need to complete this process, please contact the UIF for assistance on 0800 212 799.
When will the UIF be closing for the festive period?¶
Members of the UIF have delayed the date of their normal festive break to continue processing TERS payments. The UIF will now close on 24 December 2020 and reopen on 4 January 2021. You can however continue to update information on the TERS portal throughout this period.