The first round of payments under the Morrison government’s $130 billion JobKeeper scheme is set to start flowing this week, a little over a month after the program was first announced.
However, before you can receive the payments you MUST:
Complete Step 2: Identify and maintain your eligible employees. Whereby, you must identify each eligible employee and the eligible business participant that you are claiming the JobKeeper Payment for.
Then complete Step 3 which is making the first of the mandatory monthly declarations. The ability to make these declarations through the ATO’s business portal opened Monday (May 4).
Before you start, here are the key dates:
- From 20 April, complete Step 1: Enrol for the JobKeeper payment and see our website for further information.
- From 4 May, complete Step 2: Identify and maintain your eligible employees and eligible business participant.
- By 8 May, pay your eligible employees at least $1,500 (before tax) for each JobKeeper fortnight to claim JobKeeper payments for April.
- 31 May is your final date to complete steps 1 and 2 if you want to claim for JobKeeper fortnights in April and May.
- Each month, complete Step 3: Make a business monthly declaration to reconfirm your eligibility.
Here’s what you need to know for Step 2
We need to identify and maintain your eligible employees, the steps vary depending on your software and your number of employees:
- Your STP enabled payroll software has JobKeeper functionality.
- Your STP enabled payroll software doesn’t have JobKeeper functionality and you have 200 employees or less.
- Your STP enabled payroll software doesn’t have JobKeeper functionality and you have more than 200 employees.
If you aren’t using STP enabled software, use the ATO’s JobKeeper guide – employers not reporting through STP.
Please note if you are completing this step for April, you will move automatically to Step 3: Make a business monthly declaration.
Here’s what you need to know for Step 3
Businesses accepted into the JobKeeper program are required to make monthly declarations to the ATO, updating their current and projected turnover calculations and reconfirming their eligible employees. These declarations will need to be reaffirmed every month for the duration of the scheme.
This list of identified eligible employees will appear as a prefilled list in future months and you will be able to make changes to it through your STP enabled payroll software, however if your eligible employees change or leave your employment, you will need to notify the ATO through this monthly declaration.
You can make can make the monthly declaration via the Business Portal or we can lodge on your behalf.
If you have eligible employees:
- ensure you have paid your eligible employees at least $1,500 (before tax) per JobKeeper fortnight that you’re claiming
- check if your eligible employees have changed or left your employment. If so, you will need to notify the ATO by re-visiting Step 2 to maintain their details before completing your monthly declaration.
The ATO said on its website the reconfirmations aren’t a “retest” of eligibility. But last Friday ATO deputy commissioner James O’Halloran, the ATO’s program lead for JobKeeper, said: “That monthly report … is really a reaffirmation you are still eligible for the scheme and that will trigger the payments again in the subsequent months.”
“Once you’re in, you’re in, once you’ve done the work then it’s automatic and obviously subject to you still being eligible and no change in your employees.”
Key dates for JobKeeper
A timeline of the ‘JobKeeper fortnights’ is now available on the ATO’s website, including a list of key dates for employers over the life of the program. The JobKeeper scheme works in dedicated “fortnights”, although businesses aren’t required to change their individual payroll cycles to bi-weekly ones, so long as they comply with the dates listed below.
- JobKeeper fortnight 1: March 30 – April 12; employees must be paid by May 8.
- Fortnight 2: April 13 – April 26; employees must be paid by May 8.
- Fortnight 3: April 27 – May 10; employees must be paid by May 10.
- Fortnight 4: May 11 – May 24; employees must be paid by May 24.
- Fortnight 5: May 25 – June 7; employees must be paid by June 7.
- Fortnight 6: June 8 – June 21; employees must be paid by June 21.
- Fortnight 7: June 22 – July 5; employees must be paid by July 5.
- Fortnight 8: July 6 – July 19; employees must be paid by July 19.
- Fortnight 9: July 20 – August 2; employees must be paid by August 2.
- Fortnight 10: August 3 – August 16; employees must be paid by August 16.
- Fortnight 11: August 17 – August 30; employees must be paid by August 30.
- Fortnight 12: August 31 – September 13; employees must be paid by September 13.
- Fortnight 13: September 14 – September 27; employees must be paid by September 27.
All applicant businesses are also required to notify eligible employees they will be nominating on their behalf.
Don’t forget, if an employee does not want to receive JobKeeper payments, they are allowed to opt-out.
Should you have any questions or need any help ensuring you receive all available assistance, please reach out to our team and we will endeavour to do our best to assist.
Stay Safe.
The Team at Rose Partners
