Many workers lost income due to the Covid-19 enforced lockdowns. This is why the South African government established the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) to supplement the lost income of these workers.
Employers apply for TERS benefits to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) on behalf of their employees.
Applications for TERS benefits are evaluated on an individual basis. This means that your benefits will be paid once your application for benefits is approved.
This could also mean that your colleagues at work receive their TERS benefits before you do even though you work for the same company.
If your TERS application was successful, your application status will say ‘Payment Processed’. You will also be able to see the amount paid and the date and time when it was paid. It may take a few days to reflect in the nominated bank account.
Possible reasons why you were not paid your TERS benefits could be due to mistakes made in your application process. The UIF says that common mistakes in the application process relate to declarations, bank verification or ID verification.
Acting UIF Commissioner Mzie Yawa said, “We have observed that most Covid-19 TERS payments are unsuccessful due to employers or their representatives failing to follow the application procedures correctly. The application platform provides error messages and guides employers on what they need to do to correct mistakes”.
Failure to rectify these mistakes could see employees lose out on valuable relief.
The TERS scheme is paid out at a flat rate. Eligible employees will receive at least R3 500 per month. This amount of money that an employee receives is determined by a number of different factors. These include the employees monthly remuneration and the amount of time the employee was unable to work.