COID RETURN OF EARNINGS 2014 – DEADLINE EXTENDED!

The Department of Labour yesterday announced some good news for all employers registered with the Compensation Fund. The Return of Earnings which is due by the end of March each year, may be submitted later this year. The deadline for submission of the 2014 return has been extended to 31 May 2015.

The announcement is extremely welcome since the Compensation Fund has unfortunately built a reputation in the past few years of not being as efficient as employers would like them to be.

Employers have been struggling with the online ROE submission portal (https://roe.labour.gov.za/) and returns could not always be submitted successfully due to problems with the online system.

Assessments were not always prepared and made available in reasonable time leaving employers who require a letter of good standing stranded when trying to run their business.
In previous years, the fund offered discounts on assessed returns if payment was made before a specific date. Although the idea of discounts was great, the execution was done poorly with very little info about the process that will be followed when discounts allowed and at the end of the day, the department required employers to make payment in full with the promise that discounts will be passed at a later stage, which seems to never have happened anyway.

Employers should take note of this year’s deadline extension but at the same time, keeping the Compensation Fund’s track record in administration and communication in mind, rather submit the ROE earlier than later.

The official notice published by the Department of Labour is available at: http://www.labour.gov.za/DOL/downloads/documents/useful-documents/compensation-for-occupational-injuries-and-diseases/roeextended_31may2015.pdf