May TERS Claims

[Christel]

The May TERS claims are set to open on Monday, 25th.
According to UIF they want to pay directlly into the bank accounts of the employees and the banks will validate the accounts before payment.
I"m not sure what's going to happen where employees do not have bank accounts... will have to wait and see.

They also specified that the minimum wage/payment they will pay out is R3500... and even if your employee earns normally less than R3500, you have to pay the full R3500 to them. You cannot hold any money back and must not refund the difference to UIF.

Lets hope all goes smoothly this time around.

April applications can still be made. There is no cut-off date set for April.

[Dave A]

How far has everyone managed to get with their May TERS claims?

I submitted on Tuesday 2nd June using the csv upload method.
At of this morning, when I check the status of the claim I get No employees found.

I am starting to wonder if I should do the manual employee add process...

[ians]

Employees are getting unsettled about not being paid... unfortunately i am not in a position to pay forward ... i am scratching my own back thanks to the BBEEE relief fund not offer support for certain small bussineses.

I have tried on numerous occassions and now handed it over to my accountant ... still no luck.

It seems the R350 support is not going well either.

[Dave A]

So far I have come across one employer who has seen a May period payout for TERS. Submitted on Monday 1st June using the "manual" add-each-employee-online method rather than uploading a csv file. Paid out on Friday 5th June.

News on my application is the status has changed to "Application Not Processed yet" - which is progress. At least it now recognises there was a submission.

[kavesh]

My application has had the status of "application not yet processed since day after submission on 01/06/2020

[Dave A]

UPDATE: Our TERS application for May was paid out on Friday 12th June.

[kavesh]

UPDATE: Our TERS application for May was paid out on Friday 12th June.

Thats fortunate,

Our application is still showing status of "application not yet processed"

[Ola]

Our application has had the status "Application In Progress" since applying on 02/06/2020...

[Dave A]

I have to say reading news releases like this gets up my nose a bit -
Minister Nxesi appeals to companies to furnish outstanding details over withheld lockdown relief payments.

It would help if the Department improved capacity to assist all the folk who have been trying to contact the Department for assistance.

UIF has been so unresponsive to TERS claims submitted via the NBCEI that the Bargaining Council is now taking the matter to High Court. In a notice to employers sent on Monday, the Council reports the following:

Since the last correspondence many more firms have been assisted in submitting TERS claims via registering firms and members individually, and a significant number of firms and their employees were paid as a result.

However, firms and their employees registered under the Council’s name on the online portal have not had any success. This process has continued to be problematic and flawed. Information required to be edited as directed by UIF cannot be corrected nor can firms be delinked. There are approximately 120 firms and their employees “locked” in this portal.
The Council has not received any payments to forward on to the claimants through this means and all attempts to communicate or contact the UIF has been in vain, with no acknowledgement of Council’s communication.

The Council, at its own expense embarked on a process of legal action against the State. The Council approached Senior Counsel and a letter of demand was issued to the State during the course of last week with a deadline to respond.

The Council’s primary goal was for the State (UIF) to resolve the matter without having to proceed to court, but unfortunately this didn’t materialise, and the Council was left with no choice but to proceed in the best interests of the electrical contracting industry.

The Council is in the process of making an urgent application to the High Court in Pretoria for a judgement. Feedback from the Council’s litigation team is that the matter may be heard in the High Court on the 23 June 2020.

My electrical contracting company made its application for TERS benefits via the NBCEI and is one of those 120 employers "locked" into this mess. We haven't seen a cent yet for the first period (27 March to 30 April), let alone get to making a May submission. The reason given per the claims portal is "Incorrect Banking details". It appears there is a validation error when it comes to the banking details of the bargaining council. However, all efforts to unlock the roadblock have failed to date.

The Minister seems well aware of the distress unpaid benefits have on the employees who are not receiving the TERS benefits they are legally entitled to. It frustrates me no end that the finger of blame keeps getting pointed at employers, when it seems clear there is a problem within the Department's capacity that is exacerbating the suffering.

When will the minister get around to fixing that?
(Or even acknowledging it).

[kavesh]

How does one find the error issues, "incorrect banking details" or any other.

[Dave A]

How does one find the error issues, "incorrect banking details" or any other.

Hi Kavesh,

You will only be able to access the error report where the application has been processed. Once the application has been processed, log in at https://uifecc.labour.gov.za/covid19/covid19 and access the Payment Breakdown Report.

[ians]

One of my staff memebers felt he no longer needs to come to work until i sort out his UIF (i dont blame him) my suggestion would be for all the people who havent received payments ... they should all go to the UIF offices and sit there until it is sorted out. (just dont burn down the building)

I wonder if there is any money left?

[ians]

The next quesion is who pays his wages until he decided to reutrn to work ... do i claim UIF while he is refusing to come to work ?

Do i put him on short time?

He no leave and no sick leave left ... what now ... can i fire him in 2 weeks time for not coming to work ?

[kavesh]

So the status of our application for May has now changed to "Application in process"

Its been like this for a week now.

I am suspecting that the money is all gone now

[kavesh]

The next quesion is who pays his wages until he decided to reutrn to work ... do i claim UIF while he is refusing to come to work ?

Do i put him on short time?

He no leave and no sick leave left ... what now ... can i fire him in 2 weeks time for not coming to work ?

Thats a difficult one. He really has not absconded as he informed you why he is not coming to work.

Good luck