Legislation for the JobKeeper Extension was passed by Parliament on Tuesday 1 September 2020 and received Royal Assent on Thursday 3 September 2020, Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Rules 2020 Legislation (C2020A00081).
In an effort to provide targeted and proportionate support to eligible employers and employees, the Australian Government has introduced a tier-based system and lower payment rates for JobKeeper fortnights starting 28 September 2020.
JobKeeper Extension 1 (28 September 2020 to 3 January 2021) will see tier 1 employees receiving $1,200.00 per fortnight (gross) and tier 2 employees receiving $750.00 per fortnight (gross).
JobKeeper Extension 2 (4 January 2021 - 28 March 2021) will see Tier 1 employees drop down to $1,000.00 per fortnight (gross) and Tier 2 employees receiving $650.00 per fortnight (gross).
Your eligible employees' tier level will depend on their total hours of work, paid leave and paid public holidays during their reference period. Tier 1 will apply to all eligible employees working 80+ hours in the reference period, all other eligible employees will be Tier 2.
From a Payroll processing perspective, changes are minimal. Eligible employees and TOPUP amounts are still reported via the use of Other Type Allowances JOBKEEPER-START-FNxx, JOBKEEPER-FINISH-FNxx, and JOBKEEPER-TOPUP.
In addition to these, your eligible employees will need to have their applicable Tier Level reported via the use of either JK-TIER1 or JK-TIER2. Full setup instructions for these Other Type Allowances can be found in our JobKeeper Guide.
It is vital to remember that any deviation from the approved Other Type Allowance format may prevent or delay the ATO reimbursement process.
The information provided here is a top-level view only. The ATO has provided a comprehensive Fact Sheet that contains the specific detail required for DSP's developing payroll solutions. Each DSP will provide their own guidance to use with their individual payroll offerings.
Information resources,
If you are using e-PayDay®, read the JobKeeper reporting guidance.
For further JobKeeper Payment information please refer to the Australian Taxation Office official page.
The latest Fact Sheets are also available from Treasury.
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