EWSS has now been extended to December 2021 as per the Finance Bill issued at the end of June 2021. The updates are outlined in full in the latest Revenue EWSS guidelines.
There are two main items to note
- Extension date of the EWSS Scheme
- EWSS Eligibility criteria and mandatory review reporting
Extension date of EWSS Scheme
EWSS remains in place until the end of 2021. The current payment rates of the scheme remain unchanged until at least 30 September 2021. It is likely that changes to the payment rates will apply from October. Any changes are expected to be announced in September 2021.
EWSS Eligibility criteria and mandatory review reporting
Eligibility for the scheme from 1st July 2021 is based on comparing the turnover for all of 2021 with the turnover for 2019.
An employer must demonstrate that their business is expected to experience a 30% reduction in turnover or customer orders in the period from 1st Jan to 31st Dec 2021 for pay dates on or between 1st July to 31st Dec 2021. This disruption to normal operations must be caused by Covid-19. Page 3 of the Revenue EWSS guidelines outlines the review test periods and page 4 & 5 gives working examples.
Employers will be required to complete an online Employer Review Form (ERF) through ROS on a monthly basis. The initial ERF will be open for completion on ROS between 21st and 30 July 2021 for the period of June 2021. This form must be completed to ensure continued receipt of EWSS. Failure to complete the EWSS ERF will result in suspension of payment of EWSS claims.
How to Prove EWSS Eligibility
From the 21st July until the 30th July the portal will be open on ROS on the my services page as per below.
This eligibility review includes a submission of monthly turnover or customer orders for 2019 to be completed. This is a once off for July only and cannot be resubmitted.
Going forward the 2021 monthly review figures will need to be submitted to Revenue between the 1st and the 15th of the following month.
