JobKeeper payments – Latest update

Businesses, charities and not for profit entities impacted by the Coronavirus can access the Government’s JobKeeper Payments subsidy to continue paying their employees.

The key points include:

• A JobKeeper allowance of $1,500 per fortnight (which is a flat payment per employee).
• Every employee/individual is only able to receive one payment from one employer, their primary employer.
• The payments are backdated to 30 March, but paid by the ATO from 1 May onwards. The payments are made monthly in arrears.
• Business turnover has to have fallen by 30% to be eligible. For the largest firms, it has to be a 50% drop. Turnover is defined according to the current calculation for GST purposes and is reported on Business Activity Statements.

Available to:

1. Full and part-time workers,
2. Sole traders who had an ABN before 12 March 2020 and are actively engaged in the business,
3. Casuals who have been with their employer for 12 months or more.
4. Any employee who has been stood down since 1 March will still be eligible for the payment.
5. One partner in a partnership,
6. One individual beneficiary in a trust,
7. One company director in a company,
8. One shareholder of a company who receives dividend income.

To receive the JobKeeper payment, employers must:

• Register an intention to apply on the ATO website and assess that they have or will experience the required turnover decline.
• 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.
• 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. And for those employees earning more than this amount, the employer can provide them with a top-up.
• Notify all eligible employees that they are receiving the JobKeeper Payment.
• Continue to provide information to the ATO every month, including the number of eligible employees employed by the business.