Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) – Rates Change
The EWSS will remain in place in a graduated form until 30 April 2022. The enhanced rates of supports under the current 5 payment bands and associated rates based on the employee’s earnings will continue for October and November- see ‘Rates’ below.
The changes from December are:
- Businesses availing of the EWSS on 31 December 2021 will continue to be supported until 30 April 2022.
- A two-rate structure of €151.50 and €203 will apply for December, January and February.
- A flat rate subsidy of €100 will apply for March and April. The reduced rate of Employers’ PRSI will no longer apply for these two months.
The scheme will close to new employers from 1 January 2022.
Rates
The subsidy amount paid to employers will depend on the gross income of each employee.
EWSS will give a flat-rate subsidy to qualifying employers, based on the number of qualifying employees on the payroll.
The following rates apply:
| Gross pay per week | Rate from 20 Oct 2020 to 30 November 2021 | Rate from 01 December 2021 to 28 February 2022 | Rate from 01 March 2022 to 30 April 2022 |
| Less than €151.50 | No subsidy applies | No subsidy applies | No subsidy applies |
| €151.50 – €202.99 | €203 | €151.50 | €100 |
| €203 – €299.99 | €250 | €203 | €100 |
| €300 – €399.99 | €300 | €203 | €100 |
| €400 – €1,462 | €350 | €203 | €100 |
| Over €1,462 | No subsidy applies | No subsidy applies | No subsidy applies |
Income tax and PRSI deductions
Under the #EWSS employers must operate PAYE on all payments. This means you should resume the regular deduction of income tax, USC and employee PRSI from your employees’ pay.
If an employment is eligible for the subsidy, a 0.5% rate of employer’s PRSI applies.
Further information – https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/documents/ewss/ewss-guidelines.pdf
