Submission of the Claim Form
The submission of the Monthly Form on the ATO website is:

• An approved form, in Law, and therefore you MUST be authorised to lodge and have a Client Declaration
• The Claim form – an employer will NOT be paid unless they lodge this monthly form
• April report must be lodged by 31 May

May report: The law requires it to be lodged in 7days unless the Commissioner allows longer. We have requested the end of the following month is reasonable.

GST Turnover
ATO have now advised that the GST Turnover fields on the monthly report should be:

• “Entities should make a genuine effort to calculate and report current and projected GST turnover. If you later identify errors in the calculation, you will not be required to re-report to the ATO.
• “If the error is related to employee details or payments made, and will impact the amount of the JobKeeper payment(s), the employer/agent will need to call the call centre. There is no online amendment capability.”
• They have also advised that the GST turnover is to be calculated on the SAME basis as the decline in turnover test was calculated.
• They have explicitly called out that the Monthly report of GST Turnover is not being used to re-assess any Decline in turnover.
• They do note that if the projected decline that was used is unreasonable then they make enquiries.

Different Experiences – employee list
The ATO system provides a different experience depending on whether the employee has used payroll software with STP reporting and again a slightly different experience if you are using JobKeeper Codes in that software.

Payroll Software with STP and using JobKeeper Codes
The ATO are informed of the employers “eligible employees” through the use of the JobKeeper-Start codes.
Employer will NOT (currently) see the employee list nor be able to maintain it on the ATO website.
The ATO will prefill the number of employees – if it is incorrect then “edit” them, check the software is reporting the correct employees to ATO through STP.

Payroll Software with STP and NOT using JobKeeper Codes
The ATO are informed of the employers’ employees through STP reporting.
The Employer will be provided with the employee list and will be able to indicate JK status on the ATO website. They will also be able to add any missing employees.
The ATO will not prefill the number of employees in April, but will do so in May and following.
Payroll without STP software.
The ATO do not have the eligible employees and therefore the employee must add them.

• For less than 40 – this can be performed on screen
• For more than 40 they are required to complete a CSV file and submit it to the ATO.

The Employer will be provided with the ability to add employees and indicate the JK status.
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The ATO will not prefill the number of employees in April, but will do so in May and following.

We are always here to help with any questions you might have, please contact us directly.

Sally

We are here to help you...
Our team is committed to helping you ease the stress and burden, in short let us make it easy for you.
Here is what we currently know and for all these steps we will be providing you with authorities to enrol you in the system and templates to meet all your eligibility and record keeping requirements and help you determine your business eligibility.

Decline in Turnover
Each individual entity has to test if their individual entity turnover did decline. If so, they then apply either the 30% or 50% test (that was determined by the Group Aggregated Turnover).

Aggregated turnover of all entities that are connected or affiliated with you is used for the purpose of determining if the decline in turnover % of 30% if turnover of the group is below $1b or 50% if over.
 
NFPs registered with ACNC are only 15%.

Comparing Turnover: Compare one of

• GST turnover for March 2020 with March 2019
• Projected GST turnover for April 2020 with April 2019
• Projected GST turnover for quarter starting April 2020 with same quarter in 2019
• Other (let’s discuss with you these alternative tests) 

 
Eligible Employees
You cannot claim for employees who:

• Were first employed by you after 1 March 2020
• Left your employment before 1 March 2020
• Have been, or have agreed to be, nominated by another employer

Remember: Employee can only receive JK payments or support through ONE employer. And the employee must agree to be nominated by you.

After you have worked out you and your employees are eligible
 
If you meet the eligibility criteria and want to start claiming the JobKeeper payment on behalf of your employees, you need to start paying them at least $1,500 per fortnight (before tax) and continue to pay them for as long as you keep claiming.
 
When do I have to pay?
For the first two fortnights (30 March – 12 April, 13 April – 26 April), the ATO will accept the minimum $1,500 payment for each fortnight has been paid by you even if it has been paid late, provided it is paid by you by 8 May. This means that you can make two fortnightly payments of at least $1,500 per fortnight before the end of April, or a combined payment of at least $3,000 before the end of April.
 
You cannot claim the JobKeeper payment on behalf of employees who were not paid at least $1,500 before tax during each JobKeeper payment period.
 
You cannot claim the JobKeeper payment in advance. The JobKeeper payment is a reimbursement from the ATO to an employer in arrears and cannot be paid in advance in any circumstances.
 
Employees who were stood down or on long term leave
 
Employees who have been stood down from work under the Fair Work Act without pay may still be eligible employees as long as they were in your employment and met the eligibility criteria on 1 March 2020.
 
You will need to have paid them at least the minimum amount of $1,500 for each fortnight you claim in order to receive the JobKeeper payment.
 
Employees who have been terminated
 
If you terminated an employee after 1 March 2020, you can re-engage them, and they will be eligible if they met the eligibility criteria on 1 March 2020.
 
If you want to claim the JobKeeper payment for employees you have re-engaged, you will need to:

• confirm they want to be re-hired and participate in the JobKeeper scheme with you
• re-engage the employees you want to claim for
• start paying them a minimum of $1,500 (before tax) for each fortnight they are employed, and you claim for.
• You will only be paid a JobKeeper payment for employees from the fortnight they were re-engaged. You cannot claim retrospectively for employees you re-engage.

 
You as an Employee or Business Participant for JobKeeper
 If you are an employee of your business, then you will follow all the guidance as an employee and complete all paperwork necessary for eligibility and continue to pay yourself at least the $1500 (before tax) per fortnight.
 
If you are a self-employed, sole trader, partner in a partnership or trustee in a trust then it is not necessary that you pay yourself $1500 per fortnight.
 
We are able to assist you with all steps and processes involved in the JobKeeper scheme which includes the setup in your payroll system and the respective reporting to the ATO. We will also be in communication with you and your accountants to ensure a consistent and appropriate interactions and provision of service.

Contact us for further information - [email protected]

Best wishes

​Sally