The Government and the ATO had been saying that JobKeeper was a "one in all in" system, and on Friday 1 May 2020 that effectively became law, with it becoming an offence for an employer that registered for the JobKeeper payments to not notify their eligible employees in writing.

Until 1 May 2020, the "one in all in" requirement had effectively been part of the rules, but hidden away in a change to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), in which a new section 789GD was introduced to impose fines on employers who were otherwise eligible for JobKeeper, but who did not pay employees the minimum $1,500 per fortnight.

For employers that have treated this as a "one in all in" system, there will be no change, other than perhaps a requirement to give a written notification, where that has not already occurred.  For employers who have chosen to exclude one or more employees, perhaps for cashflow reasons, they face being penalised if the ATO catches them, or if they are ‘dobbed in’ by their employees.

As well as covering the "one in all in" requirements, on 1 May 2020, the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Amendment Rules (No. 2) 2020 (Cth) (the Amending Rule No. 2) was registered.  The Amending Rule No. 2:

1. amends the eligibility test for certain group structures (service entities), universities, charities and international aid organisations;

2. extends the JobKeeper scheme to religious practitioners; and

3. imposes additional requirements for eligible employees aged 16 and 17.

For entities that have notified the Commissioner of their election to participate in the JobKeeper scheme before 1 May 2020, they must notify their relevant employees in writing that they have registered for the JobKeeper scheme by no later than 7 days after the commencement of the Amending Rules No. 2 - that is, before 8 May 2020.

For full details, click here.

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.

contact