Your business can only receive JobMaker for your eligible employees if total employee headcount and payroll increases. If the headcount or
payroll decreases or remains the same, JobMaker cannot be claimed for that period.
For example: If you had three staff at September 2020 and hired an additional two employees in late October 2020, your
business can claim JobMaker for the two new employees assuming the business and the employer are eligible and payroll has increased
compared to the September 2020 quarter. However, in December 2020, one of your original staff members resigns. As a result, your business
can only claim JobMaker for one eligible employee in December as your headcount has increased by one, not two, compared to the September
2020 baseline.
A similar baseline concept applies to payroll. If you employed new eligible employees in October 2020 but your overall payroll remained the
same or only increased marginally because the hours of your existing staff reduced when the two new employees were employed, then the
JobMaker credit will only be the additional payroll amount. That is, if the JobMaker credit for the two employees for the quarter is $8,960,
but payroll compared to the September 2020 quarter only increased by $1,200, then the JobMaker credit you receive would be $1,200. The
JobMaker credit cannot exceed the increase in payroll.
Each month, employers will need to ensure they pass these ‘additionality’ tests before claiming.
Your headcount and payroll increase is measured on the last day of each reporting period from the date your first new employee started. For
example, if your first new employee joined in October 2020, your baseline is set at that point. If a new employee starts in January 2021,
your payroll and headcount baseline is measured from the last reporting period, in this case, December 2020 for headcount and the December
quarter for payroll. That is, your baseline commences from the date your new employee starts and then is reassessed each reporting period
to ensure there is an increase.