Over the past few weeks we have posted various information on Sage City. Below are the links to all the posts covering the relevant topics around the relief options available, with many of them containing overlapping content:

• COVID-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (RSA)

• Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (TERS) - Prescribed file template requirement

• Draft Disaster Management Tax Relief and Relief Administration Bill (published 1 April 2020)

• C19 TERS (Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme) - Amended Directive released 08/04/2020

• C19 TERS (Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme) Export Report available to download (updated 13/04/2020)

• UIF-Covid 19 TERS National Disaster Application system now available (14/04/2020) - Updated 17/04/2020

• C19 TERS applications can only be submitted online (17/04/2020)

Every attempt is made to share information as soon as it becomes available. 

Where possible, guides have been published by Sage and the relevant statutory bodies to assist the clients with the various processes and Covid-19 relief options available. As a software provider, we can only guide you on what selections to make on the payroll depending on the applicable Covid-19 relief measure applied, for example, UIF statuses for reporting purposes or running the TERS report etc.

We recommend that if you are unsure about which Covid-19 relief claims apply to you, you contact your tax practitioner, labour lawyer/representative or the Department of Employment and Labour to obtain clarification.

We are able to clarify the following Frequently Asked Questions as The Payroll Authors Group of South Africa (PAGSA) has received clarification on some of the fields of the TERS CSV file from the Department of Employment and Labour (DoEL).

For which period can the TERS benefit be claimed?

• The TERS benefit is only available within the lockdown dates as announced by the President (currently 27 March 2020 – 30 April 2020).
• The C19 TERS spreadsheet refers to ‘shutdown’ dates, these dates can be the same as the lockdown dates or a shorter period (depending on the employer’s scenario).
• The period can further be shortened if the employee was employed during the lockdown period or terminated during the lockdown period.

What is ‘Remuneration (Monthly)’?

• This is UIF remuneration (as defined in the Unemployment Insurance Act) i.r.o of the last full payroll month before the lockdown period.

What is ‘Remuneration Received During Shutdown Period’?

• This is any remuneration (UIF remuneration) paid in cash or granted as a taxable benefit i.r.o of the shutdown period.
• This amount will be used to reduce the remuneration value of the TERS benefit calculated by the Fund before it is paid

The current reporting option are currently under review to make the applicable changes, and will be communicated here no on Sage City as soon as available.