Your business may be eligible for the new JobKeeper Payment which was announced on 30 March 2020 to assist businesses to continue to pay their employees.
We are waiting on legislation to support the measures so it is unclear at this stage how the mechanics of the JobKeeper payment system will work. We expect that the devil will be in the detail and we will update you once further clarification is provided.
Here is what we know so far.
Amount and timing of subsidy
The JobKeeper payment is a subsidy of $1,500 per fortnight per eligible employee from 30 March 2020 for a maximum period of 6 months. The first payment will be received by employers from the ATO in the first week of May.
Eligibility
Employers will be eligible for the subsidy if their business has a turnover of less than $1billion and their turnover will be reduced by more than 30% relative to a comparable period a year ago (of at least a month).
Employers with a turnover of $1 billion or more will be eligible if their turnover will be reduced by more than 50% relative to a comparable period a year ago (of at least a month).
Eligible employees
Eligible employees are employees who:
• are currently employed (including those stood down or re-hired);
• were employed at 1 March 2020;
• are full-time, part-time, or long-term casuals (a casual employed on a regular basis for longer than 12 months as at 1 March 2020);
• are at least 16 years of age;
• are an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa, a Protected Special Category Visa Holder, a non-protected Special Category Visa Holder who has been residing continually in Australia for 10 years or more, or a Special Category (Subclass 444) Visa Holder; and
• are not in receipt of a JobKeeper Payment from another employer.
If your employees receive the JobKeeper Payment, this may affect their eligibility for payments from Services Australia as they must report their JobKeeper Payment as income.
Mechanics and Application process
Employers will be required to:
• register an intention to apply on the ATO website (ato.gov.au) from 30 March 2020 and assess their eligibility based on turnover decline;
• subsequently apply on line;
• ensure eligible employees will receive, at a minimum, $1,500 per fortnight, before tax. It will be up to the employer if they want to pay superannuation on any additional wage paid because of the JobKeeper Payment.
• provide information to the ATO on eligible employees. This includes information on the number of eligible employees engaged as at 1 March 2020 and those currently employed by the business (including those stood down or rehired). For most businesses, the ATO will use Single Touch Payroll data to pre-populate the employee details for the business.
• notify all eligible employees that they are receiving the JobKeeper Payment.
• continue to provide information to the ATO on a monthly basis, including the number of eligible employees employed by the business.
LT can assist
LT can assist in the application process if you think your business may be eligible for the JobKeeper payment.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us.