The Government has announced a JobKeeper Payment for employers, employees, sub contractors and sole traders.

The eligibility is those businesses who are self-employed as well as employing staff/subcontractors and has suffered business turnover decline of at least 30%.

Under the JobKeeper Payment, businesses impacted by the coronavirus will be able to access a subsidy from the Government to continue paying their employees. Affected employers will be able to claim a fortnightly payment of $1,500 per eligible employee from 30 March 2020, for a maximum period of 6 months.

Eligible Employers:

Employers are eligible for the JobKeeper payment if all of the following apply:

• On 1 March 2020, you carried on a business in Australia or were a not-for-profit organisation that pursued your objectives principally in Australia.
• You employed at least one eligible employee on 1 March 2020.
• Your eligible employees are currently employed by your business for the fortnights you claim for (including those who are stood down or re-hired).
• Your business has faced either a: 
  • 30% fall in turnover (for an aggregated turnover of $1 billion or less)
  • 50% fall in turnover (for an aggregated turnover of more than $1 billion), or
  • 15% fall in turnover (for ACNC-registered charities other than universities and schools)

Eligible Employees:

Your employee may be eligible if at 1 March they were either:

• full-time, part-time or fixed term
• a long-term casual that you employed regularly for at least 12 months

There are other eligibility criteria that your employee must meet. Make sure to check them all.

If your employee agrees to be nominated by you for JobKeeper, they must complete the JobKeeper employee nomination notice and return it to you for your records.

Payment process

Eligible employers will be reimbursed a fixed amount of $1500 per fortnight for each eligible employee.

Employers need to pay all eligible employees a minimum of $1500 (before tax) per fortnight to claim the JobKeeper payment. This will be paid to the employer in arrears each month by the ATO.

Timing

The subsidy started on 30 March 2020, with the first payments to be received by employers in the first week of May.

The time to enrol for the initial JobKeeper periods has been extended from 30 April 2020 until 31 May 2020.

If you enrol by 31 May, you will still be able to claim for the fortnights in April and May, provided you meet all the eligibility requirements for each of those fortnights. This includes having paid your employees by the appropriate date for each fortnight.

How to apply

We can help you apply for the job keeper payment & monthly declaration of your income until the scheme ends. Book your appointment to discuss how we can help our clients in this unforeseen time.