What if I am eligible, and I haven’t yet enrolled or applied for the JobKeeper payment?
You now have until 31 May 2020 to enrol for April and May 2020 if you have not already done so, and you will be eligible. That is, if you enrol by 31 May, you will still be able to claim for the fortnights in April and May, provided you meet all the eligibility requirements for each of those fortnights. This includes having paid your employees a minimum of $1,500 by the appropriate date for each fortnight.
Please refer to our previous posts relating to eligibility.
What are the Key Dates I need to be aware of?
- 31 May 2020 – is the final date you can enrol for JobKeeper if you intend to claim for wages paid for JobKeeper fortnights in April and May.
- Beginning of each month (May, June, July, August, September and October)
If you are eligible for JobKeeper you need claim monthly between the 1st and 14th of the following month. For example, to be reimbursed for JobKeeper payments for May you need to complete your claim by 14 June. You will also need to:
- re-confirm the number of employees still eligible.
- provide your business’s current GST turnover for the month being claimed and projected GST turnover for the following month.
Note that if an employee for whom you were previously claiming JobKeeper has left the business, you can no longer claim JobKeeper for that employee.
Please note the monthly payments are not automatic. You will need to claim and complete your declaration monthly. This must be done in the first fortnight of each month.
If I am paying wages, and I am eligible for JobKeeper, what are the JobKeeper fortnights which I need to ensure that the $1,500 per fortnight is physically paid by?
JobKeeper Fortnight | Period relating to each JobKeeper Fortnight | Employees are paid on or before ^ |
1 | 30 March – 12 April | 8 May* |
2 | 13 April – 26 April | 8 May* |
3 | 27 April – 10 May | 10 May* |
4 | 11 May – 24 May | 24 May* |
5 | 25 May – 7 June | 7 June |
6 | 8 June – 21 June | 21 June |
7 | 22 June – 5 July | 5 July |
8 | 6 July – 19 July | 19 July |
9 | 20 July – 2 August | 2 August |
10 | 3 August – 16 August | 16 August |
11 | 17 August – 30 August | 30 August |
12 | 31 August – 13 September | 13 September |
13 | 14 September – 27 September | 27 September |
* You have until 31 May to enrol for JobKeeper if you intend to claim for wages paid for JobKeeper fortnights in April and May.
^ When paying eligible employees, you do not need to adjust your pay cycle through your existing payroll solution.
If you usually pay your employees less frequently than fortnightly, the payment can be allocated between fortnights in a reasonable manner. For example, if you pay your employees on a monthly pay cycle, your employees must have received the monthly equivalent of $1,500 per fortnight.
If I haven’t been eligible for April 2020, can I be eligible in future months?
Yes, but you must ensure that you are enrolled before the end of the month in which you become eligible.
For example, if you did not qualify for the JobKeeper payments in April 2020, but say you do in May 2020, you can start claiming JobKeeper from May (providing you have enrolled by the end of May), but please be careful not to claim for the April fortnights.
If you engaged RVN to assist with your JobKeeper applications, we will be assisting you with the above. However, if you pay employees, you will need to make sure that physical payments of the wages (at a minimum of $1,500 per fortnight for those eligible employees) are made by the above dates.
Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you need assistance – we’re here to help.