President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the Unemployment Insurance Fund's Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Temporary Relief Scheme (TERS) is being extended but only for some sectors. Here's which sectors qualify to benefit.
During one of his famous addresses, the President said:
We have also decided to extend the COVID-19 TERS benefit until 15 March 2021 only for those sectors that have not been able to operate.
Sectors which qualify are:
- Cinemas, theatres, casinos, museums, galleries, libraries and archives
- Gyms and fitness centres
- Restaurants
- Venues hosting auctions, professional sports, social events, concerts and live performances
- Night clubs, bars, taverns and shebeens
- Swimming pools, public parks, beaches, dams, rivers and lakes
- Domestic and international air travel along with rail, bus and taxi services and passenger ships
- Sale, dispensing and distributions and transportation of liquor
- Hotels, lodges, bed and breakfasts, time share facilities, resorts and guest houses
- Conferencing, dining, entertainment and bar facilities
- International sports, arts and cultural events
- Any industries that form part of the value chain of the above as per the discretion of the UIF
These sectors will be able to claim for the period of 16 October 2020 to 15 March 2021.
The following employees also qualify:
- In isolation and quarantine (due to Covid-19)
- Age of 60 and above (who could not be safely accommodated at work)
- With comorbidities (who could not be safely accommodated at work)
The period for the current extension is from 16 October 2020 to 15 March 2021. This will be broken up into 2 claim and payment iterations as follows:
- 16 October until 31 December 2020
- 1 January until 15 March 2021
The aim of TERS is to help fight the worst effects of the pandemic on South Africans and to ensure that workers are not left penniless.
