- Jobkeeper payments will continue from 28 Sept 2019 to March 2020 at reduced rates
- From 28 Sept two fortnightly payments are available $1200 (for eligible employees working over 20 hours as at Feb 2020) and $750 (for those under 20 hours per week)
- Eligibility will be assessed quarter to quarter, so you need to compare a revenue loss of at least 30% (or 15% for NFP’s) from 2019 against Oct-Dec 2020 and again in Jan- Mar 2021 from the previous year.
What does it mean for those who won’t continue to qualify for Jobkeeper as of end Sept 2020?
If you followed a JED (jobkeeper enabling direction) to reduce hours etc, then your staff will automatically revert to their previous conditions following the last jobkeeper payment.
If you went through a consultation process instead to discuss reduced pay or other changes, then you won’t need to automatically revert back to previous conditions, but it is a good time to reassess the situation and consult with your employees about what is going to happen moving forward.
Will you have to make the tough decision to make redundancies?
Jobkeeper has been a great lifeline for many businesses, allowing businesses to work through the challenges that COVID has presented and enable people to remain employed.
But what about those businesses which might not recover to its full revenue / workload?
In this case, continuing employment for staff members which might not be needed into 2021 when Jobkeeper will end can have significant repercussions in terms of higher redundancy payouts, termination payments and leave entitlements.
If you are in the unfortunate positions where you may be needed to make roles redundant in 2020 or early 2021, we encourage you to reach out for a free consultation to seek advice about how you might approach the months ahead.
As always, our advice is to continue communicating openly with your employees about where the business is and what may lay ahead.
Before making any decisions we encourage you to consider:
- Ensure you understand the best practice redundancy and consultation process so you avoid any FairWork unfair dismissal claims (these causes have drastically increased in recent months) and do the right thing by your staff
- Consider redeployment within the business and any associated entities
- Work out all the payment entitlements and ensure you understand whether the business can manage the payments
We are always here to offer advice so please don’t hesitate to reach out. Having an expert soundboard is invaluable for both the business and your valued staff group, and most questions and problems can be answered quickly and simply by our team.
If there’s anything you’d like to see in our blogs, articles and updates please email hello@peoplestart.com.au with your suggestions.
