FINANCIAL SUPPORT AVAILABLE FOR BUSINESSES – WHAT HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED SO FAR:
THE WAGE SUBSIDY – NEW AMOUNT
The Government has announced that eligible businesses will be able to apply for the wage subsidy scheme via the Work and Income website from Friday (20/08). The new subsidy amounts will be $600 per week, per full-time employee and $359 per week, per part-time employee. After your application, your business should receive payment within 3 days.
To be eligible for the wage subsidy your business would need to have experienced a 40 percent loss of revenue during and due to Alert level 4. We will have more information around this and the link to apply when this becomes available.
RESURGENCE SUPPORT PAYMENT
The Resurgence Support Payment will also be available again for eligible businesses that have suffered a 30 percent drop in income, over a 7 day period, while in Alert Level 4. You would need to compare your 7 days in Alert Level 4, with a 7 day period anytime during the 6 weeks prior to the lockdown. The payment is for your business, not your employees, and is to help cover things like overheads. Businesses can apply to receive $1500, plus an extra $400 per employee up to a maximum of 50 full-time employees. To read more, click here. (Business.Govt.NZ should be updating the dates on this link shortly). Applications should be available by early next week via the Inland Revenue website, but we will keep you updated on this and provide the link.
Important note: Make sure when you complete your invoicing that the dates of your invoices are when you completed the sale/job, not dated during the Level 4 lockdown period.
You can view other COVID-19 support for businesses here.
OTHER USEFUL LINKS:
WHO CAN STAY OPEN AT COVID-19 ALERT LEVEL 4
For the list of businesses and services that can operate at Alert Level 4, click here.
RULES FOR BUSINESSES AT ALL ALERT LEVELS
You can view the rules and some examples of what businesses need to do at each Alert Level here.
EMPLOYEE WAGES
It’s so important that you look after your team, especially when we’re going through a labour shortage. Last year some business owners made week by week decisions around wages, which means if this goes for longer you can change how you treat people’s wages (within legislation of course).
It’s highly likely that wages will be treated the same as last time, where you can just pay the wage subsidy amount & top this up with annual and/or sick leave to the full pay, or to 80% (must have written variation agreement). Again, we will let you know as soon as they give us more concrete information that we can rely on from an official government website.
If you alter their pay or put time to annual or sick leave, just make sure you have a written agreement with both parties signing and agreeing to this because you always have to follow the Employment Contracts Act and the employees Employment Contract. You can use our wage variation template from last year here. There is also some helpful information on leave and pay entitlements during COVID-19 here.
Remember one of your biggest assets are your team, so keep this in mind when making wage alterations.