New Eligibility Criteria for the EWSS Scheme

From 01 January 2021 there has been a change in the eligibility criteria for the EWSS for businesses. 

Businesses that were in existence for the entire first six months of 2019:

To be eligible for the EWSS your business should be expecting to experience a 30% reduction in turnover or customer orders, due to COVID-19, between 01 January 2021 and 30 June 2021 compared to the period from 01 January 2019 to 30 June 2019.

Businesses that did not exist for the entire first six months of 2019:

Where the business did not exist for the first six months of 2019, the benchmarked periods to determine eligibility depend on when the business operations began:

Businesses that started trading between January 2019 and 01 May 2019:

The 30% decline in turnover or customer orders, due to COVID-19, must be determined in 2021 by reference to the same period in 2019 in which the business was operating.

For example, if the business started on 01 March 2019, then the business must be able to show that there has been a 30% decline in the period from 01 March 2021 to 30 June 2021 when compared to 01 March 2019 to 30 June 2019, due to COVID-19.

Businesses that started trading after 01 May 2019:

The employer must be able to show that the turnover or customer orders during the period 01 January 2021 to 30 June 2021 will be at least 30% less than what it would have been, had there been no disruption caused by COVID-19.

Review your Eligibility

If you are currently availing of EWSS and intend to submit further EWSS claims you need to review your eligibility for the scheme.

Employers claiming EWSS are required to review their eligibility on a rolling basis on the last day of every month, to compare their actual turnover to the projected turnover over the period in question. This will determine whether they continue to meet the eligibility criteria. If they do not, employers are required to deregister for the scheme on the first day of the following month. You also need to submit an online monthly Employer Eligibility Review Form to Revene through ROS. Read more on reviwing your eligibilty for the EWSS here.

Revenue have updated their guidelines accordingly here

 

Date published 13 Jan 2021 | Last updated 29 Jul 2021

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.