In December 2020, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) appointed seven audit firms and began phase one of its "Follow the Money" project to check the authenticity of Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) claims and to verify whether the money was paid over to workers.

In preparation for this verification process, employers who benefitted from TERS are urged to prepare the following information, either manually or electronically:

• UIF Covid-19 TERS application packs:

  • Excel template/CSV file

  • Bank confirmation letter (confirmation of employer bank account)

  • Letter of authorisation for the person(s) lodging the claim

  • Signed memorandum agreement

  • Signed approval/acceptance letter

• Reconciliations of the amounts received per employee

• Proof of payments to the employees

• Proof of crediting of leave days to employees

• Proof of payment of refunds (if applicable) to the UIF

• Bank statements relating to Covid-19 TERS payments indicating payments received

• Payroll report from 01 January 2020 to date

• Complete human resource listing/file including appointment and termination dates

• Entity registration documents

• Listing of employees working remotely during the lockdown period(s)

• Listing of the dates that each employee returned to work

• Confirmation of closure periods with staff

Need some help?

Having dealt with the scheme since its inception, Cova has assisted clients with applying for and reconciling TERS payments for thousands of employees. As such, we are well placed to assist your business to be “audit ready”. Our services include:

• Quantification of the correct TERS amount and a comparison to what was actually paid per individual employee
• Quantification of under or over claims
• Advisory on what to do about it i.e. how to unlock payments that may be stuck
• Reviews to assess any risk on amounts claimed, e.g. remuneration under or over stated, lost income caps
• Provision of an audit checklist
• Support during the TERS audits
• Assistance with TERS replacement programmes

Please get in touch with us to find out more about how we can assist you.

Moeketsi Marumo
+27 11 568 4763
+27 82 080 9416
MMarumo@cova-advisory.co.za

Fungai Blake
+27 11 563 3346
+27 66 204 3818
fblake@cova-advisory.co.za

Cova Advisory