In the recent July stimulus package, the government introduced the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) with effect from 1st September 2020. This will replace the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) which will cease on 31st August 2020.
Employer Eligibility
Employers must prove their eligibility to Revenue by demonstrating –
- That their business has suffered major disruption as a result of COVID-19 &the business has suffered at least a 30% drop in either turnover or orders for the period 1st July 2020 to the 31st December 2020, when compared to the reference period of 1st July 2019 to 31st December 2019
In addition –
- The Employer must have an up to date Tax Clearance Certificate
- The Employer must register anew for the EWSS. This facility is now available on ROS
- The Employer must review their eligibility at the end of each month and withdraw from the scheme if they longer qualify
Employee Eligibility
Under EWSS, eligible employees include individuals who are employed at any time by the business during the qualifying period of 1st July 2020 to 31st March 2021. Originally, proprietary directors were excluded from the scheme but the Government requested Revenue to review this restriction on the 31st July last. Revenue guidelines are awaited in relation to the eligibility of such directors. In addition, certain connected persons, as defined by Revenue, are ineligible unless they were on the payroll and got paid between 1st July 2019 and 30th June 2020.
Subsidy amounts
Under EWSS, registered eligible Employers will receive a subsidy per eligible Employee, based on the amount of Gross Pay (as defined by Revenue under PAYE Modernisation) paid to an Employee and reported to Revenue on the Payroll Submission Request per pay period submitted to ROS. The amount of subsidy payable for a weekly payroll are as follows (monthly equivalent figures have yet to be confirmed)
- Less than €151.50 – No subsidy
- €151.50 to €202.99 – €151.50 per week
- €203.00 to €1,462.00 – €203.00 per week
- More than €1,462.00 – No subsidy
The subsidies will be paid to the Employer on or after the 15th of the following month.
Further guidance
The full details and Revenue Guidance notes on the new EWSS scheme are available here.
Should you have any queries or require any further explanations or clarifications please do not hesitate to contact us at 091 75 82 82