More JobKeeper changes…

14 August 2020

You may have heard the news that Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced the government will expand the JobKeeper scheme again. This comes a few weeks after announcements of JobKeeper 2.0 to start at the end of September. As of the 14th of August, changes to JobKeeper 1.0 has now been legislated, see ATO’s JobKeeper Payment. Also, keep in mind JobKeeper key dates, see ATO’s JobKeeper key dates.

Below is a roundup of what has been announced, what is expected to come and what has been legislated, but please note that changes may still come. Again, we appreciate your patience as we work through the changes and what it will mean for your business.

Two significant changes to JobKeeper have been announced: one is to the business turnover requirements and one to the eligible employees requirements.

Business Turnover Test

Previously:

Previously a business would need to have experienced a decline (by the requisite amount in their turnover) in both the June and the September quarters to be eligible for JobKeeper in the December quarter.

The change:

Now the government is saying businesses only need to be down in the September quarter. This takes into account that some businesses did okay in April to June, but have suffered in recent months. This is welcome news for those in Victoria who may be struggling in July, August, and September given the Stage 4 lockdowns.

Eligible Employees Test Changes

Previously:

In the past, an employee had to be on the books as of the 1st of March in order to be eligible for the JobKeeper wage subsidy.

The change:

Now, the government will change the eligibility to also qualify employees that were hired as of the 1st of July, see ATO’s Your eligible employees.

This is to allow for businesses that started opening up and taking on new employees after March. Those employees will now join the JobKeeper program over the September quarter.

Another very positive change relates to the ability for an employee to re-nominate with a new employer (which was previously not allowed). Broadly, if an individual was a 1 March 2020 employee of another entity but is not employed by that entity at any time from the start of 1 July 2020, then the individual is now permitted to give a nomination notice to a new employer. The same applies for eligible business participants, as applicable.

The ATO has also confirmed that for fortnights commencing on 3 August and 17 August 2020, employers will have until 31 August 2020 to meet the wage condition for all new eligible employees who are now included in the JobKeeper scheme under the 1 July 2020 eligibility test.

Payment amounts

There has been no new changes announced to the payment amounts for JobKeeper 2.0. As it stands, the next phase of JobKeeper will start at the end of September at a reduced rate. The subsidy will be reduced from $1500 per fortnight to $1200 per fortnight for full time workers and those working more than 20 hours per week. For those working less than 20 hours per week, they will receive $750 per fortnight.

From 4th January 2021, these payments will fall to $1000 per fortnight for full time employees and to $650 per fortnight for those working less than 20 hours per week.

Thank you

Thanks for your patience as we work through these changes. We will continue to keep you updated as we have more news on our COVID-19: Advice for our clients.

As always, we appreciate your ongoing support.