… navigating through the COVID-19 lockdown predicament …
Dear employer
The Department of Employment and Labour has extended the availability of the TERS benefits to sectors still being affected by the lockdown regulations and is limited to the following categories of employees:
- where the employer, listed in Annexure A (below), was unable to operate in full or partially due to the lockdown regulations and from 16 March 2021 to 25 July 2021;
- where the employer, listed in Annexure B (below), was unable to operate in full or partially due to the lockdown regulations and from 28 June 2021 to 25 July 2021;
- where the employer is unable to make alternative arrangements for vulnerable employees to work from home or is unable to take appropriate measures in terms of the occupational health and safety (OHS) directions, irrespective of whether the employer operates in a sector specified in annexures A or B;
- where the employer, listed in annexures A or B is, due to operational requirements relating to compliance with regulations pertaining to the need to limit the number of employees in the workplace, unable to fully or partially make use of their services; and
- where the employee is required to remain in isolation or quarantine due to a high-risk contact in terms of the OHS directions, irrespective of whether the employer operates in a sector listed in annexures A or B. It is not required for an employee to have exhausted his or her sick leave to be able to claim this benefit.
Where the employer, not operating in a sector listed in annexures A or B is, due to operational requirements relating to compliance with regulations pertaining to the need to limit the number of employees in the workplace, is unable to fully or partially make use of the services of its employees, such employees may claim reduced working time benefits.
Annexure A – Venues hosting auctions, venues hosting professional sports, venues where social events are held, venues hosting concerts and live performances, and industries that form part of the value chain of the above as per the discretion of the UIF.
Annexure B – Cinemas, theatres, casinos, museums, galleries libraries and archives, gyms and fitness centres, restaurants, night clubs, swimming pools, bars, taverns and shebeens, public parks, domestic and international air travel, rail, bus services and taxi services, e-hailing service, sale, distribution and transport of liquor, beaches, dams, rivers and lakes, passenger ships, hotels, lodges, bed and breakfast, timeshare facilities, resorts and get houses, conference, dining, entertainment and bar facilities, international sports, arts and cultural events, any industrial or business establishments that form part of the value chain of the above, or stand-alone establishment as per the discretion of the UIF.