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Processing JobKeeper 2.0 Payments in Payroll Premier

Processing a JobKeeper payrun in Payroll Premier 2020/21

Before you can process JobKeeper payments, you must have added the minimum 3 ATO mandated allowance pay items. Click here to find out how to add the JobKeeper allowance items.

The process for a JobKeeper payrun in Payroll Premier, is very similar to how you would already have been paying your employees.

Determine an employees tier for JobKeeper 2.0

As part of the new rules for JobKeeper (aka JobKeeper 2.0), employers are required to determine which tier an employee falls into for the subsidy payments. For more information about employee tiers please visit the ATO website.

Once you have determined the correct tiers you are ready to pay your employees.

Processing the first JobKeeper Payment

  1. Go to Activities > Prepare Pays

  1. Double click the employee you would like to pay the JobKeeper entitlement to. Their pay profile will open.
  1. Set up the employees wages as you normally would. I
If there is no amount other than the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP (ie. the employee is fully stood down) then don't enter anything for normal hours.

In the example above the employee is paid $800 of normal hours, which means the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP amount will be $400. For this example we are using a TIER 1 employee.

  1. Click the Allowance tab
  1. As this is the first pay for the employee, add the JK-ST-FNXX item. In our example Ken Kerekes is starting JobKeeper in fortnight number 15.
  2. Enter any amount required for the JOBKEEPER-TOPUP to reach the minimum payment. In our example, Ken was paid $800 of normal hours so requires a $400 top up to reach the Tier 1 payment amount of $1200 a fortnight
Even if the employee's normal wage is less than $1,200 per fortnight for Tier 1 employees / $750 for Tier 2 employees, or the hours worked for a casual equate to less than $1,200 per fortnight for Tier 1 employees/ $750 for Tier 2 employees, the Government has guaranteed a $1,200 minimum for Tier 1 employees / $750 for Tier 2 employees and hence all wages less than $1,200 per fortnight for Tier 1 employees / $750 per fortnight for Tier 2 employees must be "topped up" to this amount. Please see your qualified adviser for further information.
  1. Add the relevant JK-TIERX item for the employee. In this example Ken Kerekes has been determined to be a Tier 1 employee by the employer and so the JK-TIER1 item is included.
  2. From this point onwards pay the employee as per your usual process.

Processing subsequent JobKeeper Payments

The primary difference between the first payment and others is that the Start item and Tier item do not have to be included in the employee's pay run. For example, in Ken's second JobKeeper based payment, the setup for his allowances would be as follows:

Final pay of JobKeeper Payments

JK-FN-XX allowance item is used on the pay run to inform the ATO when the employee is no longer eligible for JobKeeper payments.

In the sample payrun above, Ken Kerekes is leaving the JobKeeper program in fortnight number 16.

Leave Requirements

For information about leave requirements for employees during JobKeeper please consult the Fairwork Australia website.

If after consulting the website you are required to accrue leave on a employee without them working (ie. the employee has been fully stood down from the business), you may need to change their leave accruals to handle this. To determine whether you should be doing this, it is best to speak to your bookkeeper or accountant first for advice.

The below information is general in nature and should not necessarily be relied upon for every businesses circumstance. Please consult your qualified advisor.

If you are required to accrue leave on a employee even though they are not working, you may need to change their accrual details for leave.

To do this, open the employees profile (click the Employees icon on the top bar and then double click the employees name) and then click the Leave tab.

In the leave tab, one way to achieve accruing leave whilst not paying employees is to set the Accrual Details period to Pays. This means that every time the employee has a payrun processed, even if its only for JobKeeper or for a $0 payment, leave will be accrued to the employees profile. You will need to adjust the Accrue Hrs amount to the amount a employee usually accrues per pay period when working for your business.

If you require assistance with setting up JobKeeper payments, click here to find a certified Reckon Partner near you.

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Related Articles

Processing Jobkeeper payments in Reckon Accounts
JobKeeper Payments FAQ
JobKeeper Items - Payroll App
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