Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS)
Update 22 December 2020
Businesses on the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) will have to provide Revenue with a six-month sales projection within 10 days or will lose their eligibility for the scheme.
Employers claiming a subsidy under the scheme must now show a 30% reduction in turnover will occur for the period January 1 to June 30 2021. Companies must make the calculation by December 31 and compare it to the corresponding period in 2019, to ensure their business will still qualify for the scheme.
Furthermore, businesses will now have to review their eligibility monthly, based on their actual incremental revenue figures.
Employers who no longer qualify based on amended projections will have to deregister from the scheme. Incorrect submissions will be clawed back by Revenue or offset against future payments under the scheme.
On July 23, the Government announced the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS). This scheme provides a flat-rate subsidy to qualifying employers based on the numbers of paid and eligible employees on the employer’s payroll.
EWSS will replace the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) from 1 September 2020 and is expected to continue until 21 March 2021.
Qualifying Criteria for Employers
In order to be eligible for the EWSS, employers must demonstrate that:
- their business will experience a 30% reduction in turnover or customer orders between 1 July and 31 December 2020;
- the disruption is caused by COVID-19; and
- must maintain tax clearance for the duration of the scheme.
The reduction in turnover or customer orders is relative to:
- the same period in 2019 where the business was in existence prior to 1 July 2019;
- the date of commencement of a business to 31 December 2019; or
- where a business commenced after 1 November 2019, the projected turnover or customer orders had COVID-19 disruption not arisen.
Employers are required to conduct a monthly review to ensure they continue to meet the eligibility criteria under the EWSS. The EWSS will be administered by Revenue on a ‘self-assessment’ basis. The normal requirement to operate PAYE on all payments will be re-established under the EWSS however, a 0.5% rate of employers PRSI will continue to apply for employments that are eligible for the subsidy.
From 31 July:
- TWSS employers can claim for non-TWSS employees (new hires) under the new EWSS.
- Non-TWSS employers, who have not previously availed of TWSS, will only be eligible to apply for the EWSS.
Rates
As of 20 October 2020, the EWSS is being amended to align with the amendment to PUP, with the rate bands as follows:
| Employee gross weekly wages | Subsidy payable |
| Less than €151.50 | Nil |
| From €151.50 to €202.99 | €203 |
| From €203 to €299.99 | €250 |
| From €300 to €399.99 | €300 |
| From €400 to €1,462 | €350 |
| Over €1,462 | Nil |
This revised scheme will run to end January 2021 when it will revert back to the below rates:
| Employee gross weekly wages | Subsidy payable |
| Less than €151.50 | Nil |
| From €151.50 to €202.99 | €151.50 |
| More than €203 and less than €1,462 | €203 |
| More than €1,462 | Nil |
If you have any queries or need assistance registering for the scheme, please contact our COVID-19 Client Response Team at crteam@crowleysdfk.ie or on +353 1 679 0800/+353 21 427 2900.
