'JOBKEEPER' Payments

Today 30th March 2020 the Federal Government announced a new wave of stimulus spending aimed especially at keeping people employed during the COVID19 pandemic.

The proposed legislation will allow eligible employers to access a $1,500 per fortnight per employee subsidy. For many this will be welcome news and will allow businesses to retain some of their full time, part time and long term casual staff.

In order to qualify you will need to:

• Register an intention to apply on the ATO website. You will have to assess that you have or will experience the required turnover decline of more than 30% compared to the last financial year. This is for businesses turning over less than $1 billion.

• Provide information to the ATO on eligible employees. This includes information on the number of eligible employees engaged as at 1st 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.

• Ensure that each eligible employee receives at least $1,500 per fortnight (before tax). For employees that were already receiving this amount from the employer then their income will not change. For employees that have been receiving less than this amount, the employer will need to top up the payment to the employee up to $1,500 before tax to receive the subsidy. And for those employees earning more than this amount, the employer is able to provide them with a top-up and still receive the subsidy.

• 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.

As an eligible employee, you must meet the following requirements:

• are currently employed by the eligible employer (including those stood down or re-hired);

• were employed by the employer 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.

The application process is outlined in this link for employers: https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/Fact_sheet_Info_for_Employers_3.pdf

As always we are available to answer any questions.

Stay safe.