TERS Has Been Extended: Who Benefits?
Certain employees can now claim COVID-19 TERS benefits for the extended period of 27 June 2020 to 15 August 2020. These are employees who fall or who fell into one of the following categories of employees where their employer:
is unable to make alternative arrangements in respect of vulnerable employees (employees with pre-existing comorbidities and/or employees over the age of 60);
is not permitted to re-commence, either fully or partially, operations under the Disaster Management Regulations; and
is unable to utilise the services of the employees, either fully or partially, due to operational requirements of the employer caused by compliance with the Disaster Management Regulations.
Despite provision being made for the payment of a benefit to employees who fall into the vulnerable category, employers and employees should take note that the first option remains to take special and/or any reasonable measures to accommodate vulnerable employees.
Provision is also made for the situation wherein employees are precluded from tendering their services to their employers and/or wherein employers cannot operate at full operational capacity because of the various Regulations currently in force. These extended benefits appear to be designed to offer some relief to the many employees who find themselves in a situation wherein they, despite being eager and willing to work and despite their employer actually operating, are precluded through no fault of their own from tendering their services.
Employees who are entitled to claim will be entitled to a minimum of R3500 per month and a maximum of the amount that the employee would have received in normal circumstances upon adding the benefit with any remuneration received from the employer. All claims must be submitted by the employer or the employee through the online portal. It is advisable to make any applications for this extended benefit as soon as possible.
Please note that the content of this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic changes regularly and often without notice, and accordingly, the aforementioned is subject to amendment. For specific legal advice relating to COVID-19 and your workplace, please feel free to contact us.