Need help making sense of Jobkeeper?
Find out how Assurance HR can help. Call 1800 577 515As a business owner you’re probably aware that the Jobkeeper scheme finishes in a couple of days (Monday, September 28th) and Jobkeeper 2.0 will begin in its place for businesses who can prove a 30% decline in turnover for the September quarter, compared to the same quarter in 2019.
As well as this, if your business qualified for the original round of Jobkeeper but DON’T meet the requirements for JobKeeper 2.0, you’ll still be able to access temporary Fair Work Act provisions for a further six months if you are experiencing a 10 per cent decline in turnover.
These temporary Fair Work Act provisions include being able to reduce employees’ ordinary hours by 40 per cent of the hours they worked before the pandemic struck and give them directions in relation to duties and location of work. However, it’s not enough for you to say “yes I’m experiencing a 10% decline in turnover”…you’ll need to prove it with a certificate from a registered tax agent, BAS agent, or a qualified accountant.
A breakdown of the JobKeeper changes:
- JobKeeper Payments will now end on 31 March 2021
- From 1 October 2020, JobKeeper Payments will change from $1,500/fortnight to $1,200/fortnight for staff working more than 20-hours per week.
- For staff working less than 20-hours per week, it will drop to $750/fortnight.
- From 1 January 2021, JobKeeper Payments will drop again.
- $1,000/fortnight for people working over 20-hours a week
- $650/fortnight for people working under 20-hours a week
- Businesses will need to prove their eligibility every quarter.
How will it affect my business?
The Jobkeeper scheme was more than just a pay help. The initiative also brought temporary changes to the Fair Work Act (known as Jobkeeper Enabling Directions), which allowed many employers to change the duties, hours or location of their employee’s work. To read more about those enabling directions and how they operate, this article goes into a lot more depth.
NOTE: If you have changed your employee’s hours, duties or location as part of a Jobkeeper enabling direction please be aware that these may be changing for you. Contact Assurance HR on 1800 577 515 to discuss your specific situation.
My business still qualifies for Jobkeeper 2.0. What does that mean?
Any Jobkeeper enabling directions that you have instated will stay the same until March 2021. Any business that qualifies for Jobkeeper2.0 can do any, all, or a combination of the following:
- Vary an employee’s duties
- Reduce an employee’s hours of work, including to zero
- Change an employee’s location of work
- Change the times or days when an employee works
My business has suffered a 10% decline in turnover. What can I do?
If you qualified for the original Jobkeeper, don’t qualify for Jobkeeper 2.0, but can prove a 10% downturn in business, you can do any, all, or a combination of the following until March 2021:
- Vary an employee’s duties
- Reduce an employee’s hours of work to a minimum of 60% of the hours they worked as at 1st March 2020
- Change an employee’s location of work
- Change the times or days when an employee works
If you no longer qualify for any of the Jobkeeper changes, congratulations! It’s exciting to hear from businesses who are getting back on their feet after the biggest wave of the pandemic, and it’s certainly something to be celebrated. Bear in mind, however, that any changes you’ve made to your staffing structure under a previous Jobkeeper enabling direction will no longer be valid after 27th September 2020. It’s worth talking to the HR experts to make sure nothing is left undone or outstanding in this area. You can speak to one of our expert consultants at any time on 1800 577 515.
