COVID-19 Jobkeeper scheme – Are you eligible?
Will you get $1,500 per fortnight for each employee under the Jobkeeper scheme? Which employees will it cover?
The Jobkeeper scheme has now been legislated for by the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Bill 2020 (Cth) which was passed by Commonwealth Parliament yesterday, 8 April 2020. However, the Bill merely provides the Treasurer with the power to make rules for the introduction of the Jobkeeper scheme.
An Exposure Draft of Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Rules 2020 (Cth) has been circulated by Treasury.
The key aspects of the Jobkeeper scheme are as follows:
Eligible employers will be entitled to a Jobkeeper payment of $1,500 per Jobkeeper fortnight for each eligible employee.
A "Jobkeeper fortnight" is any fortnight in the period from 30 March 2020 to 27 September 2020.
The Commissioner must pay the Jobkeeper payment within 14 days of the end of the calendar month in which the Jobkeeper fortnight ends.
The employer must pay the employee at least $1,500 each Jobkeeper fortnight in employment-related remuneration (e.g. salary, wages, allowances, bonuses and salary-sacrificed superannuation contributions).
Employers must notify the ATO of their election to participate in the Jobkeeper scheme within a required timeframe.
Our detailed summary of the Jobkeeper scheme as provided for by the Exposure Draft can be found here. The summary is based on draft rules posted on the Treasury website which were not finalised at the time of preparing these materials. Please check whether changes have occurred in the final rules.
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The material in this article was correct at the time of publication and has been prepared for information purposes only. It should not be taken to be specific advice or be used in decision-making. All readers are advised to undertake their own research or to seek professional advice to keep abreast of any reforms and developments in the law. Brown Wright Stein Lawyers excludes all liability relating to relying on the information and ideas contained in this article.