Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (“TERS”) extension: appeal process and update

Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (“TERS”)

 On 27 March 2021 the Unemployment Insurance Fund (”UIF“) issued a letter outlining the appeal process for the lockdown period 16 October 2020 until 15 March 2021.

 On 1 March 2021 the UIF opened its online portal for sector based claims. The online portal performed a “real check on the business activity and the main division sector selected by the user”. If the sector selected did not match with the SARS database, one of the following error messages would be generated preventing a claim being lodged.

• The Entity is registered with SARS without Industry/Sector classification;
• The Entity is registered with SARS under “‘|sars class| ‘”class, which is not a qualified sector category for TERS payment; or
• The Entity is not registered with SARS under a qualified sector category for TERS payment (the entity is not registered)

This decision can either be accepted or rejected. Appeals can be lodged via the UIF Call Centre from 6 April 2021. The employer will be subjected to an authentication process and a link will then be sent to the employer to upload an appeal form as well as supporting documentation. A decision will then be made to accept the appeal or decline it.

If the appeal has been approved, the employer may re-lodge their TERS claim within 72 hours. Employers will select their business activity as previously done and select “OTHER (APPROVED APPEALS)” for the main division sector.

Further details regarding the appeal process, as well as further information on changes to the TERS bank verification system, are contained in the letter, which can be accessed at  https://www.nsbc.africa/storage/covid_files/1617092816.pdf .

by Jacques van Wyk, Director; Andre van Heerden, Senior Associate; and Lukrisha Ramadu, Candidate Attorney