When an employee is no longer in employment, the employer cannot directly recover PAYE from the employee. PAYE is deducted from the employee’s salary or wages during their employment and paid to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) on their behalf. Once the PAYE is paid to SARS, it becomes the responsibility of SARS to administer and enforce the collection of taxes.
If there are any outstanding PAYE amounts owed by the employee, it is the responsibility of SARS to pursue the collection of those amounts through their own processes, such as issuing a tax assessment or taking legal action if necessary.
As an employer, it is important to ensure that you fulfill your obligations by deducting and remitting the correct amount of PAYE from your employees’ salaries or wages during their employment. This will help avoid any issues or complications related to the recovery of PAYE from employees who are no longer in your employment.

The employees’ tax and UIF contributions as well as SDL must be paid over to SARS within seven days after the end of the month during which the amount was deducted or due or such longer period as the Commissioner determines.
• Where the seventh day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the payment must be made not later than the last business day prior to such day. These cut-off dates apply to SDL and UIF contributions as well.