Employers with an annual payroll of more than R500 000, must pay 1% of the total amount paid in salaries to employees (including overtime payments, leave pay, bonuses, commissions, and lump-sum payments).
The amounts deducted or withheld by the employer must be paid to SARS on a monthly basis, by completing the Monthly Employer Declaration (EMP201). The EMP201 is a payment declaration in which the employer declares the total payment together with the allocations for PAYE, SDL, UIF, and/or Employment Tax Incentive (ETI).
Registering for SDL purposes
Where an employer is liable to pay SDL, the employer must register with SARS and show the jurisdiction of the Skills Education and Training Authority in South Africa (SETA) within which they must be classified.
The Skills Development Levy is distributed by SARS to the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the DHET distributes the levies:
The SETA must allocate the funds received as per the below:
The Mandatory Grant is in place to encourage employers to provide data to their SETA on their workforce, current and future skills gaps, and requirements through the submission of annual Workplace Skills Plans (WSPs) and Annual Training Reports (ATRs).
The SETA is mandated to pay back 20% of the Skills Development Levy each year, to employers that successfully submit their necessary annual submissions.
- The Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) describes the main skills development activities planned for the upcoming year and must reflect all planned training
- The Annual Training Report (ATR) reports on the education and training interventions that were delivered during the previous year. The ATR must reflect all training conducted
- Hard To Fill Vacancies (HTFVs) occupations that take longer than 6 months to find suitably qualified and experienced candidates
- Discretionary Grant
Discretionary grants are payable at the discretion of the SETA for skills development projects linked to the sector’s scarce and critical skills (Hard to Fill Vacancies). The purpose of discretionary grants is to assist the SETA in implementing its Sector Skills Plan through its Annual Performance Plan and contribute towards national priorities.
Discretionary grants is split into PIVOTAL and Non-PIVOTAL
Professional, Vocational, Technical, and Academic Learning (PIVOTAL) leading to a qualification or part qualification.
Interventions:
- Learnerships
- Apprenticeships
- Bursaries
- Skills Programmes
- Work Integrated Learning Internships, TVET and
- HET Placement
- Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
NON-PIVOTAL – Programmes that do not lead to credit-bearing qualification/s but address key objectives and priorities of the SETA.
Interventions:
- Adult Education and Training (AET)
- Short courses e.g. University, Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
- Candidacy
- Community Education and Training (CET) and Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
- Public TVET College infrastructure support
- Entrepreneurship and small business support
The Discretionary Grant is split into PIVOTAL and non-PIVOTAL
