Mandatory COVID Reporting & JobKeeper 2.0 – What do you need to know this week?

July 28, 2020
COVID-19, HRM, News
0 Comments
Susanna Ritchie

With all the business COVID changes this week – we understand if you’re struggling to keep up! Employers are now having to follow regulatory changes so closely to ensure to keep their businesses compliant.

We’ve summarised two of the recent updates here – being the new JobKeeper extension and the mandatory COVID reporting.

If you’re an aged care provider, also see our blog on paid pandemic leave here.

JobKeeper 2.0

Following the recent second wave of lockdowns in Victoria, the Government has announced the extension of JobKeeper from the original end date of 27 September 2020, until 28 March 2021.

JobKeeper 2.0 will kick in between 27 September 2020 and 28 March 2021 (extension period) and will look slightly different. We’ve outlined the main changes here for you.

1. The Payment Amount:

The payment for eligible employees is being reduced for the extension period – as outlined below:

	Fortnightly Payment
	For employees working >20 hours per week	For employees working <20 hours per week
Original JobKeeper Until 27 Sep 2020	$1,500	$1,500
Extension period 1 28 Sep 2020 – 3 Jan 2021	$1,200	$750
Extension period 2 4 Jan 2021 – 28 Mar 2021	$1,000	$650

2. Decline in Turnover for Eligibility

The reduction in turnover amount test has remained the same as the initial JobKeeper eligibility, being:

30% reduction of turnover (so long as your turnover is less than 1 billion); or
15% reduction of turnover if you are a registered charity.

However, the new change is that employers will need to meet the minimum decline in percentage of their turnover in each quarter. The quarterly periods are:

April – June;
July – September; and
October – December.

For more detail on calculating your turnover for your business see the ATO Website.