Ensure your business also caters for super
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is encouraging accommodation and food services employers to check they are up to date with their super obligations by the 28 July quarterly due date to avoid additional costs and penalties.
When employers don’t meet their super guarantee (SG) obligations by paying late, not paying in full or paying to the wrong super fund, the ATO can be notified by employees to take action and pursue any outstanding amounts.
When the ATO receives and reviews an employee notification (EN), they may alert other employees and can take firmer actions including legal proceedings to recover amounts owed.
To meet SG obligations, avoid additional costs and penalties, and the need for employees to contact the ATO:
· pay employees their SG in full and on time by the quarterly due date
· pay the correct super rate of 10.5%, which will increase to 11% on 1 July 2023. This means you need to calculate super contributions at 11% for your eligible workers for payments of salary and wages you make from this date. Your super contributions for the current quarter (ending 30 June, due by 28 July 2023) are still calculated at the 10.5% rate for payments of salary and wages made prior to 1 July
· pay to your employees’ nominated funds.
For more information about missed or late SG payments, visit the ATO’s website. They have resources that can assist in getting on top of your obligations including a Super obligations for employers checklist and SG employer obligations course.
Example scenario
Gianna runs a catering company and hires multiple employees. Gianna sometimes forgets her important tax and super obligations.
Recently one of Gianna’s employees advised that he had not been paid super. Gianna went straight to her office to check her accounts and realised that she had not paid super to her employees for the last quarter.
Gianna visited the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website to see what she should do. She learns:
• super guarantee (SG) must be paid at least 4 times a year and she had missed the last due date of 28 July
• as she had not paid her employees their SG before the due date she needed to lodge a superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) statement by 28 August, a month after the SG due date (in this case 28 July), and
• pay the SGC to the ATO.
Gianna lodges the SGC statement and sets up a payment plan for the additional costs to help manage her finances. She also enrolls in the free SG employers obligation course on the ATO’s website so that she is aware of her obligations in future.
For more information, head to ato.gov.au/superduedates
