The unfortunate events of 2020 and COVID-19 seem to be hanging around for a longer period then anticipated with some businesses continuing to be impacted. As a result the government have announced that they will extended JobKeeper to 28th March 2021.
The criteria for eligibility and subsidy have changed and the government are currently working out the details for businesses to understand whether they are eligible, what we know to date is;
- From 28 September 2020, organisations will be required to reassess their eligibility for the JobKeeper extension with reference to their actual turnover in the June and September quarters 2020.
- From 28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021, the payment rate will be $1,200 per fortnight for all eligible employees who, in the four weeks before 1 March 2020, were working in the business for 20 hours or more a week on average and for business participants who were actively engaged in the business for more than 20 hours per week, and $750 per fortnight for other eligible employees and business participants
- From 4 January 2021 to 28 March 2021, the payment rate will be $1,000 per fortnight for all eligible employees who in the four weeks before 1 March 2020, were working for 20 hours or more a week on average and for business participants who were actively engaged in the business for more than 20 hours per week, and $650 per fortnight for other eligible employees and business participants
The start date of employees has also been extended so that employees starting in a business up to 1st July can be included in JobKeeper 2.0. Businesses will need to continue to show a decline in turnover
To be eligible for JobKeeper Payments under the extension, businesses and not-for-profits will still need to demonstrate that they have experienced a decline in turnover of:
- 50 per cent for those with an aggregated turnover of more than $1 billion;
- 30 per cent for those with an aggregated turnover of $1 billion or less; or
- 15 per cent for Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission-registered charities (excluding schools and universities).
JobKeeper is and always had been developed to support businesses during these difficult times and the ATO will be conducting eligibility testing in the future to ensure businesses are correctly claiming JobKeeper. If you are unsure or need further information feel free to Contact us now or keep up to date on the Treasury website