Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys has strongly encouraged employers to avail of the Government’s new Wage Subsidy Scheme to retain employees and to re-employ employees in cases where they have recently been laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scheme will be available to employers who keep employees on the payroll through the current Covid-related trading difficulties, meaning employers can retain links with employees for when business picks up after the crisis. Under the terms of the Scheme employers will be refunded up to 70% of an employee's wages - up to a level of €410.

The Scheme is confined to employees who were on the employer’s payroll as at 29 February 2020 and full details can be viewed at Revenue Wage Subsidy Scheme.

Speaking yesterday, the Minster said, "This pandemic is presenting our people and businesses with unprecedented challenges and they require practical, flexible and innovative solutions. That’s why we have introduced this new Wage Subsidy Scheme, which supports employers to retain as many workers as possible by giving support to wage costs. It’s important to bear in mind that if you have recently laid off workers, you can still avail of the Scheme by re-employing them, which will allow you to plan ahead with more surety."

Source: www.businessworld.ie