Further to our previous articles JobKeeper Q&A – Part 1 and Part 2, REEF has received legal advice clarifying the payment of the JobKeeper wage subsidy to commission-only employees.
This updated advice reflects a clarification issued by the Fair Work Commission about what satisfies an allowable payment under the JobKeeper scheme. In particular, the total payment of $1,500 can include the payment of, among other things, commission.
The advice states:
“If an eligible employer makes a commission payment to an eligible employee in a particular fortnight that exceeds $1,500 then the employer is not obliged to make an additional JobKeeper payment to the employee.
Where no commission payment is made in a specific fortnight, then the minimum JobKeeper payment of $1,500 must be made.
If a commission payment is made that is less than $1,500 in the specific fortnight, then the eligible employer can use the monies paid to it under the JobKeeper scheme to top up the total value paid to the eligible employee to be no less than $1,500 per fortnight.”
Example 1
Henry is a commission-only employee and is an eligible employee under the JobKeeper scheme. Henry’s employer is an eligible employer and has registered to receive JobKeeper payments for Henry commencing the month of April 2020.
Henry is due to be paid a settled commission of $10,000 on the 24 April from a sale he made in February 2020. As the commission payable to Henry is in excess of the $1,500 fortnightly JobKeeper subsidy, the payment to Henry will satisfy the JobKeeper obligations for that fortnight only.
Therefore, other than the commission, no additional payment needs to be paid to Henry for that fortnight.
Example 2
Billy is a commission-only employee and is an eligible employee under the JobKeeper scheme. Billy’s employer is an eligible employer and has registered to receive JobKeeper payments for Billy commencing the month of April 2020.
Billy is due to be paid a settled commission of $900 (plus super) on 24 April from a sale he made in February 2020. As the commission payable to Billy is less than the $1,500 fortnightly JobKeeper subsidy, the payment to Billy will not satisfy the JobKeeper obligations for that fortnight.
Therefore, the employer would need to pay Billy an additional payment of $600 for that fortnight to satisfy the JobKeeper obligation.
Questions
If you have any questions about this information, please email [email protected] (rather than calling the Helpline).
