Covid19 wage subsidy scheme
Getting a lot of calls and emails today about the new subsidy scheme announced yesterday, it sounds comprehensive but the devil is in the details which are not all available yet. These are the main points as of now.

Benefits

  • Employees retain 100% of their net pay
  • Employees retain their current hours and are available to employers
  • Employers get 70% of the net pay refunded (max 410 pw) and need to gross up the other 30%. Should be a big reduction in payroll costs overall but details required
  • Lasts for 12 weeks to mid-June

Conditions / criteria to be satisfied

  • Upfront Declaration to be signed by employer with typical Revenue penalty warnings (see below)
  • 25% loss of (actual or predicted) turnover – not clear how this is evidenced
  • Unable to meet payroll in full – not clear how that will be checked.
  • Available to employees on payroll from 1 Feb to 15 Mar

Questions  / queries for implementation

  • Actual technical details on operation and working of scheme. (Payroll providers still awaiting technical guidance)
  • Self Employed Directors and Sole Traders – how are they treated?
  • People not on payroll from Feb to Mar – anything for them?
  • People earning over 38k and 76k treatment / entitlements?
  • For employers that have shut the doors and laid off employees, does it change anything

It is a lot better than the previous scheme but we need more details to understand the operation of it, how it relates to persons laid off and also to understand how the criteria / conditions are to be validated by Revenue.

If you have any insights or queries please get in touch.