EWSS and Working Employees 22 October 2020

Unsure on whether you should let an employee go on PUP due to the new lockdown. A recent email form revenue on if a staff member has to be working to qualify for EWSS.

Thank you for your query. There is no condition within the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) that an employee must be 'working' in order for the employer to claim a subsidy in respect of that employee.

The EWSS resumes normal operation of payroll for employers under the PAYE system. It re-establishes the requirement to operate PAYE on all payments to employees which includes the regular deduction and remittance of income tax, USC and PRSI at the normal rates. Where an eligible employer makes a pay-ment of emoluments to a qualifying employee, the employer can make a claim for an employment wage subsidy in respect of that employee. The level of subsidy will be determined by the amount of gross pay paid to the qualifying employee in accordance with subsection (8) of the EWSS legislation.

Once there is a payment of emoluments to a qualifying employee, an eligible employer can claim an employment wage subsidy in respect of that employee. The level of subsidy will be determined by the amount of gross pay paid to the qualifying employee.