On 30 March 2020, the Federal Government announced further financial assistance to businesses affected by COVID-19, by way of a new Jobkeeper Subsidy Payment.
This payment is a wage subsidy, to be paid to businesses, sole traders, businesses without employees, not-for-profits and charities, who have experienced a loss of at least 30% of their turnover relative to a comparable period a year ago.
The payment will be made to employers at a flat rate of $1,500 per fortnight from 30 March 2020 for all employees that were employed as of 1 March 2020. This means that even if you have stood down your employees, or made them redundant since 1 March 2020, you can reinstate them and be eligible for the payments.
Payments will commence from the first week of May 2020 (backdated to 30 March) and will continue for a maximum of 6 months.
This payment has been announced as a bid to keep employees employed and connected to their employers.
Accordingly, the availability of this payment will likely form a substantial part in the decision-making process for many businesses moving forward, specifically when addressing what actions to take with employees due to business downturns or government-directed lockdowns.
New considerations now arise when employers are considering redundancies or stand-downs.
For more information, and how you can register for the Jobkeeper Subsidy Payment, please follow the links below (for employers and employees).
If you would like further assistance based on your specific business requirements, please do not hesitate to contact us.
For employers:
https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/Fact_sheet_Info_for_Employers_0.pdf
For employees:
https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-03/Fact_sheet_Info_for_Employees_0.pdf
Francine Clancy, Senior Associate
