All employers have been granted extension to submit their WSPs and ATRs by 31 May 2020. Electronic signatures on all documents are accepted by BANKSETA and can be uploaded on the MIS.
Skills Development Levy Payment Holiday
On the 29th March 2020 the Minister of Finance announced the details of an initial set of measures to assist compliant businesses with further tax relief.
From the 1st May 2020, a four-month holiday for skills development levy contributions (1% of total salaries) to assist all businesses has been introduced (https://www.gov.za/speeches/treasury-further-tax-measures-combat-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-23-apr-2020-0000). This relates to levies that the BANKSETA would have received in June 2020 going forward.
Mandatory Grants will be impacted as the mandatory grant payment is based on 20% of the levies the stakeholder pays.
NOTE: If the stakeholder pays no levies in any month, they will not receive a mandatory grant for the relevant month.
BANKSETA receives levies for the month after the stakeholder pays them, e.g. March levies are received in April.
BANKSETA pays levies quarterly in arrears from when we receive the levies. Therefore, we assume that March 2020 levies were paid in full, but April, May, June and July 2020 levies will not have been paid at all by the stakeholders due to the levy holiday.
In June 2020 BANKSETA will pay mandatory grants based on February, March, and April levies. These will be less than normal because stakeholders would not have paid April levies.
There will be no mandatory grants due in September as stakeholders will not have paid May, June and July 2020 levies.
The December 2020 mandatory grants will be based on 20% of what is paid for August, September and October.
Discretionary Grants are not impacted at this stage.
Employed learners currently busy with BANKSETA funded studies
Learners that can continue with their learning virtually must continue to do so. Any delay will impact the duration of the learner agreement and also the funding agreement that the employer has with the BANKSETA. Employers may ask for an extension of those agreements in order for the learners to complete their studies. Please contact the relevant BANKSETA contact person that you have been dealing with for the process to extend the agreements.
Unemployed learners currently busy with BANKSETA Funded studies: PIVOTAL Funding Window
Learners that can continue with their learning virtually must continue to do so. Any delay will impact the duration of the learner agreement and also the funding agreement that the employer has with the BANKSETA. Employers may ask for an extension of those agreements in order for the learners to complete their studies. Please contact the relevant BANKSETA contact person that you have been dealing with for the process to extend the agreements. Learner Stipends must still be paid to all learners and where required the learners may return to the workplace as part of essential services. Normal safety procedures that the employer has put in place will apply.
Unemployed learners currently busy with BANKSETA Funded studies: LETSEMA / KUYASA
Learners have been continuing with virtual learning and will continue to do so. In cases where learners need to return to class strict safety measures as dictated by Government must apply. Learner Stipends are still paid to those learners and where required the learners may return to the workplace as part of essential services. Normal safety procedures that the employer has put in place will apply. For learners that are supposed to have been placed on work-place learning, as BANKSETA we understand due to the current lock-down this is not possible. We request employers to be patient or take up the challenge of innovative thinking on new ways of virtual upskilling under the circumstances. We encourage employers to rather wait till it is possible given from BANKSETA side we doing everything to retain these learners and keep them busy for now through covering the theoretical component.
Employers that applied for funding before March 2020 that have not received feedback
The funding applications have to be approved by the newly appointed BANKSETA Board and this is anticipated to happen by end June 2020. Applicants will be kept updated should this date change.
Opening of new funding windows
This has to be approved by the newly appointed BANKSETA Board and the publication of funding windows for the 2020 year is anticipated to be end June 2020. Stakeholders will be updated should this date change.
The BANKSETA staff is available to engage with stakeholders and all stakeholders are requested to communicate directly with the relevant managers listed below for any further assistance.
| CEO’s Office | Emelda Manjezi | Emeldam@Bankseta.Org.za |
| GM:Operations | Christine Fritz | Christinef@Bankseta.Org.za |
| Youth Development | Marcus Dimba | Bontlem@Bankseta.Org.za |
| Work Integrated Learning | Similo Dlamini | Similod@Bankseta.Org.za |
| Alternative Banking | Shaun Starr | Shauns@Bankseta.Org.za |
| Research | Vuyani Ntanjana | Vuyanin@Bankseta.Org.za |
| Quality Management | Charmaine Janisch | Charmainej@Bankseta.Org.za |
| Skills & Development | Madeleine Pelzer | Madeleinep@Bankseta.Org.za |
| Eastern Cape Office | Nobuzwe Mangcu | Nobuzwem@Bankseta.Org.za |
| Limpopo Office | Elelwani Netshituni | Elelwanin@Bankseta.Org.za |
The BANKSETA team is committed to ensuring that stakeholder engagement and service delivery is not compromised during the lockdown period as has been the case prior to the pandemic. As we are faced with the new normal way of conducting business operations, we are still committed to providing support to our stakeholders in the most professional manner as possible. Further arrangements will be communicated following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s national address on Wednesday,13 May 2020 on measures to manage the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19).
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them”. Maya Angelou