Before diving straight into how you can check your UIF TERS payment status, here’s a brief overview of TERS and how it works. TERS stands for Temporary Employment Relief Scheme. It is a scheme developed by the department of employment and labour. The Unemployment Insurance Fund finances this scheme. What this means is that the scheme does not generate its own income. The money that is given to employees is money gotten from their UIF accounts. The scheme came into effect on the 11th of December 2019 after the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Temporary Employment Relief Scheme was created as a measure to manage the effects the COVID-19 and the different lockdowns have had on the economy and employees, providing some sort of solution for the job crisis. It was designed to assist employees who lost their main source of income because of the COVID-19 and other related regulations that limited economic activities. Those eligible to benefit from this relief scheme are employees whose monthly earnings have been reduced due to the following reasons:
- They were not permitted to start operations either fully or partially according to the regulations that were published.
- Those who were not able to make alternative arrangements for vulnerable employees to work from home or take other measures.
- Unable to make use of their services either fully or partially due to the introduction of the shift system, limiting the number of workers at the workplace, and other measures taken in compliance with the regulations put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19.
- It also extends to employees who have had to quarantine themselves or self-isolate.
- Employees who are aged 60 and above who cannot be accommodated at the workplace are eligible for this benefit.
Those who are not eligible for the TERS benefits are:
- Employees who still receive their full income or salary are not eligible to benefit from TERS
- The scheme does not subsidize an employee’s payroll
If you are eligible to claim TERS benefits, the employer and the employees must have been registered with the UIF. You will be required to apply TERS to be able to claim these benefits. Your company will be able to benefit from TERS if it proves that it has been compliant with all UIF legislation. If the company has not been compliant, then it can undertake to pay all outstanding contributions within a specific timeframe.
You also stand a better chance if your company can prove that it has or it will embark on a sustainability program that will guarantee job preservation once the funding agreement expires. And lastly, you stand a high chance of consideration if you can meet up with UIF legislation obligations.
The application form is simple and easily assessable via the TERS online portal. Once the application process is complete, log in to your profile every couple of days to your application status.
Employers are required to submit the following documents during the application process:
- A signed approval or an acceptance letter
- A current bank confirmation letter
- Proof of payment to employees for previous benefits claimed and received for the prior period. This could be an EFT, payroll report or pay recon.
- Proof of refund to the UIF
- And a letter of authority.
If you are a first-time beneficiary:
- Activate your profile online on the official website. The website URL is https://uifecc.labour.gov.za/covid-19/
- Follow the instructions as they appear
- Then you will be required to sign an electronic MOA (memorandum of agreement) and letter of undertaking
- Then upload your bank confirmation letter as well
How to Check your UIF TERS Payment Status
After submitting your application, it is important that you check and track the process of your TERS application.
Step 1: Log in
To log in to your profile, go use this direct link to have access to the login portal. https://uifecc.labour.gov.za/covid-19/
Step 2: how to check your status
Once you are logged in, click the “status” button in the menu bar. Then you will be able to see if your application has been processed or not. “Processed” means your application has been received, and if the amount value is zero (0), this means that your application has been rejected.
Step 3: get the payment report.
As an employer, when you have checked your application status, you can then decide to get a payment report to be able to know which of your employees have been paid and which have been rejected. You can do this by clicking on the payment breakdown report in the menu bar.
Click on the green successful payment button, and you will be provided with a letter that you will need to download as a sign as proof of payment of funds.
Click on the red decline payment button, and a list of declined employees will appear.
Alternatively, if you are still waiting to hear back from a submitted application at TERS, you can track the status of your application by reaching them directly via the TERS hotline on 012 337 1997
Also Read: UIF TERS Application: A Step by Step Guide to Applying For TERS Benefits
How do you receive Ters Payments?
In case you are wondering why your payouts were not as much as you were expecting, this should help you understand how payouts are calculated and how you can receive your TERS payments.
The maximum amount an employee can receive is capped off to the amount of R6,730.56 per month per employee. The maximum amount that will be taken into consideration when calculating the benefits is R17,712 per month. The system used for these calculations is the income replacement sliding scale (38%-60%) as stipulated in the unemployment act.
Now that you understand how these calculations are made and why you are paid a particular amount, here’s how you get paid your benefits. The UIF pays UIF benefits through local banks. Ters benefits are paid directly into the bank accounts of employees. Employers are then required to input the correct bank details of their employees.
The banking details would have to be verified; if the employee’s details and the bank details are a confirmed match, then payment will be made. If the information does not match, the application for funds will be rejected, and no fund will be transferred into the employees’ account. The employer will be obliged to correct the employee’s banking details. It is important that you ensure all banking details are accurate and valid.
