COVID -19 Financial Support Schemes - AUG 2021

If your business cannot operate because of Alert Level 4 restrictions or you will lose revenue, you can apply for the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy scheme to help keep paying your staff.

Businesses and self-employed people must expect a 40% drop in revenue to be eligible to receive the wage subsidy.

The wage subsidy is paid in a 2-week lump sum. You can get:

•  $600 per week for each full-time employee
•  $359 per week for each part-time employee

Businesses anywhere in New Zealand can apply for the Wage Subsidy Scheme if they are eligible.

As an employer you must pass on the full wage subsidy to your employee. If the wage subsidy is more than your employee's pay, you can continue to pay them at their normal rate.

If your business has to physically close but your employees can work from home, and you are not eligible for the Wage Subsidy Scheme, you need to keep paying them their usual salary or wages.

Applications for the August 2021 Wage Subsidy will open on Friday 20 August 2021 at 9am and will be open for 2 weeks. You need to apply through Work and Income.

The COVID-19 Resurgence Support Payment helps to cover wages and fixed costs for businesses who have been directly affected when there is an increase to Alert Level 2 or higher for a week or more.

To be eligible, your business must have experienced at least a 30% drop in revenue or a 30% decline in capital-raising ability over a 7-day period, due to an increase in Alert Levels.

You can receive $1,500 per business plus $400 per full-time employee (FTE), up to 50 FTE. The maximum payment is $21,500.

If you're a sole trader, you can receive a payment of up to $1,900.

Applications for the COVID-19 Resurgence Support Payment will open at 8am on 24 August 2021. You need to apply through Inland Revenue.

You can apply for both the COVID-19 Resurgence Support Payment and the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme if you meet all the eligible criteria.

If your employees have been asked to self-isolate and they cannot work from home, you can apply for the COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme for them. This means they can continue to get paid while they are self-isolating. Employees on a casual contract are also eligible for the payment.

You can also use the payment to help pay for employees who:

•  need to stay home and look after a dependent child who needs support to self-isolate.
•  are at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and a doctor or health professional has told them to self-isolate while there is a risk of community transmission.

The Leave Support Scheme is paid at a rate of:

•  $585.80 a week for full-time workers who were working 20 hours or more a week
•  $350 a week for part-time workers who were working less than 20 hours a week.

Employers and employees need to meet certain criteria to apply for the Leave Support Scheme.

The COVID-19 Short-Term Absence Payment helps businesses keep paying employees who: cannot work from home, and need to stay at home while waiting for a COVID-19 test result.

Employees on a casual contract are also eligible for the payment.

You can also use the short-term absence payment to pay employees who have to stay home and look after a dependent child because their child has been asked to get a COVID-19 test.

You can get a one-off amount of $350 for each eligible worker while they are staying home waiting for test results. The amount is the same for both full time and part time employees.

You can apply for the Short-Term Absence Payment any time, not just when there is a risk of community transmission, or change in Alert Levels.