As Government has now had some time to refine and optimize its responses to the COVID-19 Disaster, some minor updates are in order following our earlier communications in this regard.
Yesterday, the Democratic Alliance hosted a special Labour Law Edition of their successful Coronacast series which can be viewed on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQRfY2PxdLg and is most illustrative. I note that the views expressed in the video are not necessarily my own, however I agree on the majority of issues.
Furthermore, the Minister of Employment and Labour has made some non-committal assertions which, on the face of it appear to contradict some of the procedures implemented by business, it is important to clarify the fact that the National Lockdown is an unprecedented process and no body of caselaw exists, neither does labour legislation make specific provisions for these circumstances and a lot of the measures being implemented by businesses are wholly new and are developing along as the situation progresses. We therefore urge all of our clients who have implemented policies and procedures specific to the Lockdown continue to review and tweak these procedures.
UIF TERS Benefits – Updated Information
Following my earlier update in this regard, the Department of Employment and Labour have updated the autoresponse received when Employers send an email to COVID19Ters@labour.gov.za to now include actual sample data and CSV files which makes it much easier for Employers to apply for these TERS benefits on behalf of their Employees:
Dear Employer
C19 TERS: Temporary Employee / Employer Relief Scheme
Please note the following:
Steps 1: Key Documents required
– Letter of Authority, on an official company letterhead granting permission to an individual specified to lodge a claim on behalf of the company
– MOA (completion of the agreement between UIF, Bargaining Council and Employer) ; only applicable to employers that has more than 10 employees
– Prescribed template that will require critical information from the employer
– Evidence/payroll as proof of last three months employee(s) salary(ies)
– Confirmation of bank account details in the form of certified latest bank statement
All documents submitted will be subject to verification.
Step 2: Submission Process
Submit/transmit all documents as required to UIF via dedicated mailbox Covid19UIFclaims@labour.gov.za
Payment will only be effected after MOA sign off between the Fund and the Employer/Bargaining Council.
Please complete attachment 6 if the payment must be paid to Employer / Bargaining council
Additional Information
– NMW that will be used to determine minimum payment to employees is as follows:
Domestic: R 124 .56 per day
Agriculture: R 149.44 per day
EPWP: R 91.36 per day
Other Sectors: R 166 .08 per day
– Opening of special account is only applicable to Bargaining council
– If you represent more than one employer , please submit one template per employer
– The means to payment is critical and provide banking details as per the mode selected, example ,if the payment should go to the employer, then the employer special banking account should be given.
– However, proof of payment is required to satisfy that the payments indeed went to the employees. This is also critical, if further payments are required
– Please note the enquiry telephone to enquire on the claims lodged: 012 337 1997
– With reference to the prescribed template : Please note rules to executed
Payroll Companies: ( Use Attachment 1 and 2 )
1. ##Filename should be in the following format
UIREEFERENCENUMBER_ddmmmyyyy_uniquesequence.csv Example –
00000012_25mar2020_01.csv . unique sequence number can be a number which is not used to send file with same name – so when you send file first time uniquesequence can be 1, when sent second time it can be 2.
2. File should start with a Header – H|DATE DDMMMYYYY
COLUMN HEADERS AS UNDER ARE NOT REQUIRED IN THE FILE. ITS JUST TO INDICATE SEQUENCING. REMOVE THE HEADER ONCE FILE IS GENERATED. ONLY H|DDMMMYYYY is required on the Top
UifReferenceNumber|Shutdown From (DD-MMM-YYYY)ONLY|Shutdown Till(DD-MMM-YYYY)ONLY|Trade Name|PAYE number|Contact Number|Email Address|IDNumber|First Name|LastName|Renumeration(Monthly)|Employment Start Date|Employment End Date|Sector Minimum wage per month|Leave Income(During Shutdown)|Bank Name|Branch Code|Account Type|Account Number
3. The values of remuneration should not be comma separated. Example – 26000.90 and not 26,000.92
4. All the dates in CSV file should follow the date format DD-MMM-YYYY – Example – 23-APR-2020
5. Sector Minimum wage per month value is Mandatory. A blank value will result in error.
6. Account Type value should reflect as below. Please use the Account Type ID instead of Account Type description.
– Current Account – 1
– Savings Account – 2
– Transmission Account – 3
7. ## each file should have footer record as under
F|2050 , HERE 2050 IS THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEE RECORDS IN THE FILE
No payroll software. ( Use Attachment 3 )
This format is only for small employer who have no payroll software.
1. The values of remuneration should not be comma separated. Example – 26000.90 (Correct )and
2. All the dates in EXCEL file should follow the date format YYYY/MM/DD – Example – 2020/04/23
3. Sector Minimum wage per month value is Mandatory. A blank value will result in error.
4. Account Type value should reflect as below. Please use the Account Type ID instead of Account Type description. Use 1 for Current, 2 For Savings and 3 for Transmission Account
– Current Account – 1
– Savings Account – 2
– Transmission Account – 3
Unemployment Insurance Commission
The Following Documents are attached to the Email:
- 1 Payroll Companies Template
- 2 Payroll Companies Sample
- 3 National Disaster Payment
- Employer’s Account Information
- Updated TERS MOA
Essential Services – Issues
Note that while this was explicitly stated in the DMA Regulations and again later in a much-publicized Judgement, I must remind Employers that Employees, even where they are engaged in the provision of Essential Services, such Employees may not travel across Provincial or Municipal boundaries. This is not permitted regardless of the Employee’s role as an Essential Services Provider.
Furthermore, Companies who provide Essential Goods or Services must ensure that they have ensured compliance with the regulations, implemented appropriate policies and procedures to deal with COVID-19 in the workplace and provided the requisite PPE. Furthermore, the Policy should address steps taken by the Company to secure the health and safety of Employees in the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I have recorded various instances of Employee absence and other misconduct during this period and we reiterate that ordinary disciplinary procedures and processes should continue to remain in force however reasonability dictates that attendance based offences should be viewed against the major mitigating factor surrounding the National Lockdown and the effect thereof. I make reference to specific examples such as an Employee needing to attend to his/her ill parent during this time, especially against the issues surrounding the availability of public transport. Another example is the fact that schools have been closed and parents need to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their children in households where both parents could be engaged in the provision of Essential Services.
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