Free certificate of service template

Every item section 42 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act asks for, in the wording of the Department of Labour’s Form BCEA5. Download it as a PDF to sign or as a Word file to edit.

Every employee who leaves is entitled to one, whether they resigned, were dismissed or were retrenched, and the UIF asks for it with an unemployment claim. If you are the employer, fill it in, download it and sign it. If you are the employee and your old employer never gave you one, fill it in yourself and send it to them to check and sign. The duty is theirs, but nothing stops you doing the typing.

Employer

Leave blank if none covers the business. The certificate will then say "None".

Signed by

Printed next to the signature line.

Employee

The Act only puts the reason on the certificate if the employee asks for it. Leave it blank otherwise.

Pay on the last day

Anything else the employee may need on record, such as regular pay in kind or a bargaining-council grade.

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What a certificate of service must say

Section 42 of the Act lists seven things: the employee’s full name; the employer’s name and address; any bargaining council or sectoral determination the business falls under; the date employment started and the date it ended; the job title, or a short description of the work the employee was doing on the last day; the pay on that day; and, only if the employee asks for it, the reason employment ended. That is the whole list. Nothing about conduct, performance or whether you would hire the person again.

The Department of Labour publishes Form BCEA5 for it, and the form says of itself that it is a model, not a prescribed form: any document with the same information is sufficient compliance. This page follows the form’s wording so the result looks like the one labour centres and HR departments already know.

The Act attaches no conditions to the entitlement. It does not wait for a uniform to be returned, a loan to be settled or a dispute at the CCMA to end. An employee who leaves on bad terms gets the same certificate as one who leaves on good ones, with the reason left off unless they want it there.

Why the UIF asks for it

To claim unemployment benefits, the Department of Employment and Labour wants a copy of the claimant’s ID, the last six payslips, the employer’s UI-19, a service certificate from the employer, proof of registration as a work seeker and the completed claim form. The certificate and the UI-19 are the two the employer has to produce, and a claim stalls without them. The UIF calculator shows what the claim is worth once it goes through.

One person leaving means three documents

The certificate of service, the UI-19 declaring the termination, and a salary schedule of what the person earned. Two of the three come straight out of payroll if payroll was keeping the records. Govchain Payroll produces the UI-19 and the salary schedule the moment you terminate an employee, files the monthly EMP201 and UIF declaration, and keeps the IRP5s ready for tax season. If you only need the odd payslip, the payslip generator makes one without a signup.

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Common questions

Is a certificate of service the same as a reference letter?
No. The certificate states facts: who worked where, from when until when, doing what, for how much. A reference letter gives the employer’s opinion of the person, and the Act does not oblige anyone to write one. An employer who will not give a reference still has to give the certificate.
Do I have to say why the employee left?
Only if the employee asks. Section 42(g) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act lists the reason for termination as the one item that goes on the certificate at the employee’s request, so the form leaves it out unless you fill it in.
What counts as the pay at termination?
The Act defines remuneration as any payment in money or in kind made or owing in return for work. Put the rate the employee was on for the last day: a monthly salary, a weekly wage or an hourly rate. If part of the pay was in kind, such as accommodation or meals, say so under other information.