Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 May 2020
117. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance if employees enrolled in the TWSS will have non-statutory deductions automatically reapplied after exiting the scheme while remaining in employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6619/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) is provided for in section 28 of the recently enacted Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020). Of necessity, the underlying legislation and the scheme itself have been developed very quickly, having regard to the overarching, urgent Government objective of getting much needed assistance to employers and employees, where businesses have been seriously affected by the pandemic and the necessary restrictions introduced to fight the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
The intention of the TWSS is to maintain employees’ net income as close as possible to normal net income and to ensure that the employees receive the full subsidy payment value. Non-statutory payroll deductions, for example, credit union deductions, union fees, etc., are normally deducted from net pay after tax. Revenue guidance provides that employers should not apply the non-statutory payroll deductions from net pay, unless the value of the additional gross pay (employer top-up) exceeds the value of the deductions, or that the employer is doing so with the agreement of the employee.
I have been advised by Revenue that non-statutory deductions from pay are matters that are agreed between the employee and employer concerned and do not form part of the payroll submission reported by employers to Revenue. Therefore, it will be a matter for the employer and the employee concerned to agree to have non-statutory deductions reapplied to the employee payroll after exiting the TWSS.
