COVID-19 Update: Job Keeper Payment Announcement
As most of you would be aware, the Federal Government announced a further range of measures to help combat the financial effect of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The Job Keeper Payment is designed to give businesses $1,500 per fortnight to pay the wages of each eligible employee.
Attached below is a fact sheet giving further details of the package.
We recommend that, if you employ staff, you register for the package.
You can register your interest at
https://www.ato.gov.au/general/gen/JobKeeper-payment/?=redirected_JobKeeper
We will advise you in due course as further details are provided.
PLEASE READ THE FACT SHEET IN THE BELOW LINK:
10 Comments.
If the business has stood employees down and has closed. There is no money to outlay this payment while waiting for funding. Are business able to start the payments and backdate employees once the first payment of funding has gone to the employer?
If the employees have been stood down (not fired/resigned/redundancy) they are still on the payroll and leave continues to accrue.
Given the turnover will have dropped by more than 30% then the business will receive the $1,500 p/fortnight. This must be paid over to the employee Pre-tax) and no super is required to be paid on this. No further payment is required until they are no longer been stood down.
If you are intending to pay them wages, then you need to continue to report the wages (and PAYGW) and get the withholding reimbursed (up to $50,000 by June), however this will require you to pay the net wages to the employee. If the wages are less than $1,500 p/fortnight then the employee must still receive $1,500. If the wages are more than $1,500 then you are obliged to continue to pay the reported wages. In other words the employee receives the lesser of $1,500 or the reported wage every fortnight.
This doesn’t answer the question above I don’t think? If the business had to close and has no money to pay employees until the government payment comes through, can they wait for the government money and back pay their employees?
Can a restaurant reopen selling take away food make their employees work for this money.
Hi Michelle,
The idea of the job keeper payment is to keep people employed. If the restaurant reopened and sold takeaway food then you are eligible to register and claim the job keeper payment. Please note that you would need to show that your turnover has reduced by 30% and that the respective employee was on your books before closure. Also note that this has not yet been legislated and as such full details of the package have not yet been released.
My daughter is a casual for Kmart and whilst Westfarmers has openly started they are remaining open and not applying for the job keeper payment all her shifts have been cancelled due to change in opening hours and closing of fitting rooms and whilst they did have her working in other areas this week, no more shifts after today. Cause she lives at home and studies full time at Tafe she is not eligible for any other govt payments even though she pays for her own expenses.
Just wondering could the legislation change with the big companies and billion dollar turnover? They haven’t lost > 50% turnover. So we can’t get job keeper because they are still making sales in other areas. So we are disadvantaged as, being an employee to a big company.
in case of a lockdown for a non essential services company standing down its employees, can the employer force its employees to use their annual leaves whilst claiming the Jobkeeper payment from government? Or can employees request unpaid leave, earn the Jobkeeper allowance and preserve their leaves?
If your employer has applied for the job keeper payment and has reduced the number of days/hours you work, do you accrue leave at the rate for your ordinary hours usually worked or does leave accrue based on the reduced hours.
Self employed – 2018/2019 sole trader Abn
June 2019 changed to abn/acn company of the same industry-only person on company director – lodged tfn dec on xero accounting software in July 2019, made 3 payslips from Xero accounting software of small income less then taxable income.
Paid and declared to Centrelink $100 per fortnight as in come through the company. No tax has been withheld as Under tax free threshold.
Claims single parent payment; family tax and B – declares $100 per fortnight
Should be eligible for the $550 per fortnight subsidy as well as even with the $1500 per fortnight income a small amount of pension is still available.
Is the $550 taxable as well?
Can this jobkeeper payment still be available?
Is the $550 classed as a taxable income?