Revenue to implement TWSS changes for employees who have been on maternity and adoptive leave

Revenue has confirmed that, following an announcement today (29/05/2020) by the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, it is implementing a change to the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) to accommodate employees returning to work following maternity or adoptive leave.

The current legislative rules provide for a subsidy payment based on each employee’s normal net weekly pay for January and February 2020. This means that employees returning to work following maternity or adoptive leave are not eligible for a TWSS payment, where they were not on the payroll on 29 February 2020, or where the employer was not paying wages to the employee who was on such leave in either January or February.

Today, Revenue confirmed that the necessary processes to enable employers to receive appropriate subsidy payments in respect of affected employees are expected to be operational from 12 June 2020.

Retrospection will apply from 26 March for employees who were retained on payroll by their employers, which will be implemented as quickly as possible by Revenue. For employees who were ceased from payroll and in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), no retrospection will apply as the individual was already in receipt of income support payments. However, employers may rehire these employees and the TWSS will be applied for these cases once their PUP claim has been ceased with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP).

Further guidance and information for employers on today’s announcement and how the changes will operate will be available next week.

Also, yesterday Revenue published updated statistics based on the operation of the TWSS to 28 May 2020. These statistics are published weekly on Revenue’s website. Key information reflected in yesterday’s statistics include:

• Over 50,500 employers have already been reimbursed for subsidy payments made under TWSS.
• Over 495,100 employees have received at least one subsidy payment since the start of the scheme.
• Over 250,600 employees received a subsidy in the last week.
• Around 410,000[1] employees are currently being supported by the scheme having received a subsidy in their most recent pay period.
• Over 40,000 people have moved from the COVID Pandemic Unemployment Payment into the TWSS since these Government support measures were implemented at the end of March.
• The value of payments made under the scheme is almost €1,244 million.
• This includes €112 million in tax and/or USC refunds made by employers to their employees through the payroll.

[1] This number will increase as end of month payslips are received for monthly-paid employees.

[Ends 29/05/2020]