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Covid-19 (AUS)

Jess McLean
Updated

TAPS (The Association of Payroll Specialists) have released a recorded webinar on YouTube which covers the impacts of Covid-19 on payroll. PLEASE take the time to review this information.

We strongly urge all SmoothPay payroll sites processing payroll in Australia (and New Zealand) to become members of this organisation for invaluable support, information and conferences too concerning payroll and ever-changing legislation.

Stand down/Leave without pay

If you're standing staff down during the pandemic, then you need to be aware that leave continues to accrue!

You can continue to use your ordinary work code, with full hours and a zero rate of pay to cause the accruals to continue, then just process payroll as usual.

You may or may not wish to use your Leave Without Pay code instead - just make sure that it's included in the Annual and Personal Leave accrual (Fine-tune) options.

This may or may not now be necessary though, as the Government has stepped in with the JobKeeper payment

JobKeeper payment

  • Enrol and Apply for the JobKeeper payment
  • SmoothPay will provide JobKeeper start/finish fields and report start/finish and topup information to ATO via STP (released on 17 April).
  • Continue to use your ordinary work codes if staff are working.
  • These payments are subject to tax as usual.
  • If the JobKeeper payment exceeds the employee's normal wage (as at 31 March) then use a separate allowance code classified "topup (not worked)" - this makes it taxable but not subject to SG. This will be reported to ATO via STP as JobKeeper Topup.

2 April: TAPS produced a seminar on this topic today (if you're already a member then you would have been invited - if not, join today!). Some brief notes:

  • If turnover will fall 30% against similar period last year then employer entitled to $1500 per eligible employee per fortnight (payments are in arrears)
  • You need to continue to pay staff to get the subsidy (and you can include staff stood down, re-hires and long term casual)
  • Staff receiving income support (like JobSeeker) must advise Services Australia (Centrelink) if they start receiving JobKeeper
  • You must pay each employee at least $1500 per fortnight
  • TAPS JobKeeper seminar #1
  • TAPS JobKeeper update #2
  • TAPS JobKeeper update #3

 

From 28 September 2020, employers intending to claim should do all of the following:

  • work out if the Tier 1 or Tier 2 rate applies to each of your eligible employees and/or eligible business participants and/or eligible religious practitioners
     
  • notify the ATO and your eligible employees and/or eligible business participants and/or eligible religious practitioners what payment rate applies to them; and
     
  • during JobKeeper Extension 1, ensure your eligible employees are paid at least

    - $1,200 per fortnight for Tier 1 employees
    - $750 per fortnight for Tier 2 employees
     
  • during JobKeeper Extension 2, ensure your eligible employees are paid at least

    - $1,000 per fortnight for Tier 1 employees
    - $650 per fortnight for Tier 2 employees.

CLICK HERE to read the full ATO announcement.

 

Additional resources:

 

 

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