Revenue confirms certain proprietary directors can claim EWSS from 1 September

On 28 August 2020, Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD, decided on the conditions whereby proprietary directors could access the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS).

Today (31 August 2020), Revenue confirmed that the EWSS can be claimed in respect of proprietary directors, subject to the following conditions:

• the employer meets the eligibility criteria for the EWSS,
• the proprietary director is on the payroll of the eligible employer, and
• the proprietary director has been paid wages which were reported to Revenue on the payroll of the eligible employer at any stage between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020.

Where a person is a proprietary director of two or more eligible companies, a claim for EWSS can only be submitted in respect of a single company. In this situation the following will apply:

• the proprietary director will be required to elect one company for the purposes of making EWSS claims for the period of the scheme. The election will be deemed to be made on the first submission of an EWSS claim in respect of the proprietary director,  
• once an election is made it cannot be changed during the term of the scheme, 
• no claims for EWSS in respect of the same proprietary director should be submitted by the other companies. 

Orla Fitzpatrick, head of Revenue’s Medium Enterprises Division and responsible for implementing the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme, summarised some additional advice for employers in advance of the scheme being launched on 1 September:

“Eligible employers who wish to claim EWSS need to register for the scheme in advance of making their submission through Revenue’s Online Service, ROS. Such employers must have an active PAYE/PRSI registration, a bank account linked to that registration and they must also have tax clearance.”

Over the last week, over 16,000 employers have registered for the scheme and over 15,000 applications for tax clearance have been made. Last week Revenue reminded employers that making an application for tax clearance and registering for the EWSS are separate processes. Both processes need to be completed before an employer can access EWSS supports. Additionally, employers who are currently claiming the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) must separately register for the EWSS as different eligibility conditions apply to both schemes.

Information and guidance in relation to the EWSS can be found here. Further expanded employer guidelines, including additional information on the inclusion of proprietary directors in the scheme, will issue later this week.

[Ends 31 August 2020]