ATE Circular on VETA and Workers Compensation (Payment of Tariff) (Amendment) Regulations amendment

The subject above refers.

The Association of Tanzania Employers (ATE) would like to inform all employers of the amendments to the Vocational Education and Training Act (Cap. 82) and the Workers Compensation (Payment of Tariffs) (Amendment) Regulations which came into effect on the 1^st day of July 2022.

Specifically, the Vocational Education and Training Act (Cap. 82) is amended in section 19(1) by excluding gross monthly emoluments payable by employers to all “intern students from higher learning institutions or technical and vocational education and training institutions who are under the Tanzania Employment Service Agency program” from the computation of Skills Development Levy (SDL) payable to the Commissioner at the end of each month.

Consecutively, the Workers Compensation (Payment of Tariffs) (Amendment) Regulations are amended to reduce the Workers Compensation Fund contribution rate from 0.6% to 0.5%. This measure is intended to bring equity in the contribution between Private and Public Sector employees.

The ATE commends the Government for the amendments as these measures will incentivize private sector employers to embrace workplace learning models, especially internship programs, and thus enhance skills development in the country but generally reduce the cost of employment in Tanzania.

We hereby call upon employers and the entire private sector fraternity to capitalize on these incentives and thus reduce skills mismatch, enhance productivity and increase employment opportunities in the country.