During the 21-day lockdown, many companies will be forced to shut down and employees may be laid off temporarily or be told they have to take unpaid leave while the lockdown is in place. The government has already anticipated that many people will be stuck without an income, and has therefore put plans in place to help employers pay their workers. Scorpion Legal Protection’s lawyers confirm that government is encouraging companies to still pay their workers, but if this is not possible, they can claim compensation for their workers from the Covid-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (TERS) as part of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
Not all companies will qualify to receive this benefit, they have to meet the following criteria:
- The company must be registered with the UIF.
- The company must comply with the application procedure for TERS, and
- The company's closure must be directly linked to the Covid-19 pandemic
It is the employer’s responsibility to apply for TERS by reporting their closure to Covid19ters@labour.gov.za, and they will then get an automatic response that explains the application process to them.
Qualifying employees will receive a benefit calculated in terms of sections 12 and 13 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 2001 (Act No. 63 of 2001), known as the UI Act. The salary benefits will be capped to a maximum amount of R17 712, 00 per month, per employee and an employee will be paid in terms of the income replacement rate sliding scale (38-60%) as provided in the UI Act. A sliding scale means that benefits will be paid based on the principle that the higher your normal income, the lower the percentage you’ll be paid out.
Qualifying employees will be paid out at least the minimum wage prescribed by their specific sector – they will not be paid less than minimum wage.
It’s important to note that you cannot combine this benefit with any other government benefit – meaning you can only claim for one benefit from UIF.
Tips:
- It is the employer’s responsibility to claim from TERS on behalf of the affected employees.
- You can only claim one benefit from UIF.
Source: Government Gazette No. 43161
Follow Scorpion Legal Protection on Facebook for more updates and information on your rights during the lockdown.
* This is only basic advice and cannot be relied on solely. The information is correct at the time of being sent to publishing.