Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS)
Qualifying criteria for employers
Note
The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) ceased for most employers on 30 April 2022 and all employers on 31 May 2022.
To qualify for the EWSS you needed to:
- have tax clearance from Revenue. You can check your tax clearance status through Revenue Online Service (ROS). If you do not currently have tax clearance, you can make an application using the eTax clearance service.
- demonstrate, to the satisfaction of Revenue, that:
- your business experienced a 30% reduction in turnover, or customer orders. The period in which the reduction should have occurred was different depending on the different paydates of the scheme
- and
- this disruption to normal operations was caused by COVID-19.
Paydates between 1 September to 31 December 2020
During these paydates you must be able to demonstrate that your business expected a 30% reduction in turnover or customer orders between 1 July and 31 December 2020. The period you should compare the reduction to is different dependent on the date your business commenced trading.
Paydates between 1 September to 31 December 2020
| Date business commenced | Comparative periods |
|---|
| Prior to 1 July 2019 |
1 July and 31 December 2019 |
| Between 1 July and 1 November 2019 |
The date the business commenced to 31 December 2019 |
| After 1 November 2019 |
The projected turnover or customer orders for 1 July to 31 December 2020 |
Paydate between 1 January to 30 June 2021
During these paydates you must be able to demonstrate that your business expected a 30% reduction in turnover or customer orders between 1 January to 30 June 2021. The period in which you should compare the reduction is different dependent on the date your business commenced trading.
Paydate between 1 January to 30 June 2021
| Date business commenced | Comparative periods |
|---|
| Prior to 1 January 2019 |
1 January to 30 June 2019 |
| 1 January and 1 May 2019 |
The date of commencement to 30 June 2019 |
| After 1 May 2019 |
The projected turnover or orders for 1 January to 30 June 2021 |
Paydates between 1 July 2021 and either 30 April or 31 May 2022
During these paydates you must be able to demonstrate that your business expected a 30% reduction in turnover or customer orders between 1 January and 31 December 2021. The period in which you should compare the reduction is different dependent on the date your business commenced trading.
Paydates between 1 July 2021 and 30 April/31 May 2022
| Date business commenced | Comparative periods |
|---|
| Prior to 1 January 2019 |
1 January to 31 December 2019 |
| Between 1 January and 31 October 2019 |
The date of commencement to 31 December 2019 |
| On or after 1 November 2019 |
The projected turnover or customer orders for 1 January to 31 December 2021 |
Paydates in 2022 for employers who re-entered from 1 January 2022
During these paydates you must be able to demonstrate that your business expected a 30% reduction in turnover or customer orders between 1 December 2021 and 31 January 2022. The period in which you should compare the reduction is different dependent on the date your business commenced trading.
Paydates in 2022 for employers who re-entered from 1 January 2022
| Date business commenced | Comparative periods |
|---|
| Prior to 1 May 2019 |
1 December 2019 to 31 January 2020 |
| From 1 May 2019 and 31 December 2021 |
The average monthly actual turnover or customer orders value from August to November 2021. |
Compliance checks
To ensure that the scheme is operated as intended, Revenue are carrying out:
- risk based real time compliance checks
- a follow-up programme of compliance interventions. This follow-up is being carried out with employers who display high risk indicators and are availing of the scheme. This programme is in line with the Code of Practice for Revenue Audit and Other Compliance Interventions. Interventions which commence after 1 May 2022 will be in line with the Compliance Intervention Framework
- a final assurance programme. All employers who received EWSS are invited to undertake a final self-review utilising the eligibility self-review assessment tool.
Qualifying childcare businesses
Childcare businesses, registered in accordance with Section 58C of the Child Care Act 1991, were included in the scheme. Childcare businesses were exempt from the reduction in turnover condition but needed to meet the tax clearance condition.
Next: Employer eligibility review form