General News

Key JobKeeper 2.0 Dates to Remember

Written by Felicity Magnussen
string tied around a finger

For those eligible and registered for the first JobKeeper extension period from 28 September – 3 January, employers will need to show that their actual GST turnover has declined by at least 30% in the September 2020 quarter relative to the comparable 2019 period.

This needs to be done before 31 October 2020 (via lodging your BAS).

Alternative tests for determining actual decline in turnover may be available in some circumstances and more information is to follow about these – please contact your friendly Halletts team member if you would like to discuss!

You may also find our JobKeeper 2.0 Checklist helpful in determining which tier your employees are eligible for.

Below are some important dates you may like to diarise:

  • Now – you should be notifying employees about the JobKeeper payment they can expect to receive depending upon which Tier they fall into
  • 28 September – start paying your eligible employees their Tier 1 and Tier 2 JobKeeper rates, based on their hours worked in the reference period (see our Checklist for help)
  • From 28 September – if you are using Single Touch Payroll, you can notify the ATO of each eligible employee’s Tier as part of the normal payday reporting
  • 1 – 14 October – complete the October JobKeeper monthly business declaration to receive reimbursement for the September fortnights
  • 1 – 31 October – Prepare and submit your actual decline in turnover to the ATO (via your BAS)
  • Before 31 October – ensure you have paid eligible employees the correct amount for their Tier for the fortnights starting 28 September and 12 October
  • From 1 November – Complete the November monthly business declaration and confirm which payment tier is claimed for each employee.

JobKeeper 2.0 – the udpate!

Written by Felicity Magnussen

JobKeeper 2.0 is imminent, and the rules are being written on the fly – please find below a summary of what we know so far in relation to the first extension period, and for more detail please read the NTAA’s fact sheet. We have also developed a JobKeeper 2.0 Checklist that you may like to use when assessing individual employee eligibility to ensure that you use the correct pay rate.

For those currently receiving JobKeeper and those new to JobKeeper, in order to receive it after 28 September (extension period 1) you will need to show an ACTUAL 30% GST decline in turnover for the quarter ending 30 September 2020 (via your BAS), relative to the September 2019 quarter.

There are also changes to the employee eligibility test:

  • Reference period for employee eligibility covers the 28 days prior to either:
    • 1 March 2020 (being 2/2/2020 – 29/2/2020) OR
    • 1 July 2020 (being 3/6/2020 – 30/6/2020)
Importantly when selecting the above reference period an employer must use the period that will give the employee the highest rate of JobKeeper.
  • Hours of work (during the reference period) is determined as follows:
    • Where total hours worked were at least 80 hours in the reference period, the employer receives $1,200 per fortnight
    • Where total hours worked were less than 80 hours in the reference period, the employer receives $750 per fortnight

The government has already announced various modifications to the test (for example where an employee begins employment part way through the reference period), so please contact us for assistance in determining your eligibility if your business doesn’t fall nicely into one of the above boxes.

Please note: eligibility for each of the new extension periods (28/9/2020 to 3/1/2021 and 4/1/2021 to 28/3/2021) needs to be reviewed and eligibility determined separately, so you will need to test for extension period 1 and extension period 2 (looking at actual GST for the December quarter) independently. If you fail the test for extension period 1 and JobKeeper ceases you can re-test for extension period 2 when the time comes (and potentially re-commence receiving JobKeeper if the eligibility criteria is met).

Finally, new notification forms are required to be submitted to the ATO when entering JobKeeper 2.0 (and are as yet unavailable) and employers will be required to notify all employees of their new eligible payment rate within 7 days of enrolling with the ATO.

As always, please contact your friendly Halletts team member for assistance in navigating these complicated waters!

canoeist on white water rapids

Congratulations Rob!

Written by Felicity Magnussen

Congratulations to Rob Gordon on an amazing 20 years working for Halletts!

Many of you would know Rob as our Superannuation guru but he’s so much more than that – a fount of knowledge and detail minded, not to mention a caring, loyal and fun colleague and friend.

We salute you Rob, and look forward to the next 20 years!

canoeist on white water rapids