Jobkeeper changes: What's new in JobKeeper 2.1

As a business owner, you may be eligible to access JobKeeper, a temporary wage subsidy, enabling businesses to pay each eligible employee $1,500 per fortnight until 27 September 2020. Lower tiered rates of JobKeeper will be available from 28 September 2020 until 28 March 2021.

On 7 August 2020, the Australian Government announced additional changes to the JobKeeper Payment scheme and those changes mean easier accessibility for many businesses and their employees. Firstly, if your business currently receives JobKeeper, JobKeeper payments at the current rate of $1,500 per eligible employee will continue unchanged until 27 September 2020. Thereafter, JobKeeper 2.1 kicks in and this is what you need to know: Employee Eligibility Change – Affecting Current and Extended JobKeeper (2.1) Until now, an employee was considered eligible for JobKeeper if they were employed for at least four weeks on 1 March 2020. From 3 August 2020, employee eligibility extends to those employees working for at least four weeks on 1 July 2020. This means more employees will be potentially able to access JobKeeper and receive financial support. An eligible business may now claim JobKeeper for employees who worked full-time and part-time on 1 July 2020, casual employees who worked for over 12 months on 1 July 2020 and employees who turned 18 years of age between 1 March 2020 and 1 July 2020. Turnover Test Change – Affecting Extended JobKeeper (2.1) In the initial phase of JobKeeper, a business was required to provide evidence of multiple quarters of reduced turnover. From 3 August 2020, a business must now only show a reduction in the previous quarter for each quarter’s JobKeeper Payments to be received. Under this basic turnover test, a comparison is made between your business’s GST turnover in a defined 2020 period compared with the same period 12 months prior. Lower JobKeeper Rates – Affecting Extended JobKeeper (2.1) JobKeeper 2.1 will be based on the hours worked by employees in the four weeks prior to 1 March 2020 or 1 July 2020. There will be two tiers of JobKeeper rates: High Tier – $1,200 per fortnight until 3 January 2021, reducing thereafter to $1,000 per fortnight – for those employees who worked 20 hours or more per week. Low Tier – $750 per fortnight until 3 January 2021, reducing thereafter to $650 per fortnight – for those employees who worked fewer than 20 hours per week. Under JobKeeper 2.1 employers will pay a greater proportion of their employees’ wages because the minimum wage condition will still apply.

If you would like Lynden Group Melbourne to manage the JobKeeper Incentive process for you, please do the following urgently: Click on the link below to engage us and provide us with your bank account details

https://www.lyndengroup.com.au/jobkeeper-helper-step1