Home > Updates > Update: Government COVID-19 support for businesses
IMPORTANT UPDATE: No new rounds of the Wage Subsidy Scheme or Resurgence Support Payment will be opened under the Covid Protection Framework. The Short-Term Absence Payment and the Leave Support Scheme continue to be available. See Business.govt.nz for details of COVID-19 financial support currently available for businesses.
A new round of Government support was triggered following the announcement on 17 August 2021 that New Zealand would enter Alert Level 4 from 11:59pm in order to combat COVID-19 in the community. Below we summarise the Government’s assistance available to businesses and workers.
Eligible employers anywhere in the country can apply for the WSS if they expect a loss of 40 percent of revenue as a result of the Alert Level increase announced on 17 August 2021. The Wage Subsidy will continue to be available while areas of the country are still in Alert Level 3.
The Wage Subsidy August 2021 is paid as a two-week lump sum. Applications for Wage Subsidy August 2021 #6 opened at 9am on 29 October, and will be available until 11.59pm on 11 November 2021. The revenue test period for Wage Subsidy #6 is 26 October 2021 to 8 November 2021 inclusive. All previous rounds of the Wage Subsidy are now closed.
The WSS rates have been increased to reflect the increase in wage costs since the scheme was first used in March 2020. Businesses will be eligible for $600 per week per full-time equivalent employee, and $359 per week per part-time employee. Further information is available in our detailed article or here: workandincome.govt.nz/covid-19/wage-subsidy
Following the Alert Level increase announced on 17 August 2021, the first round of RSP funding opened on 24 August. Applications for a second round of the RSP opened at 8am on Friday, 17 September. To apply for this, businesses need to show a 30% or more drop in revenue in a 7-day period from 8 September until immediately before all of NZ returns to Alert Level 1 compared to a typical 7-day period in the 6 weeks before 17 August. Applications for a third round of the Resurgence Support Payment then opened on 8 October. The payment and eligibility criteria are the same as above, and businesses need to show a 30% or more drop in revenue in a 7-day period from 1 October until immediately before all of NZ returns to Alert Level 1 compared to a typical 7-day period in the 6 weeks before 17 August.
Businesses and organisations will be able to apply for the second and third payments even if they have received the first payment. Applications for the three payments will remain open until one month after the whole of New Zealand returns to Alert Level 1.
The payment is capped at the lesser of $1,500 plus $400 per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee up to a maximum of 50 FTEs, or four times the amount the applicant’s revenue has dropped over the 7-day period. For example, if a business has 3 FTEs (which would be $2,700), but revenue drop for the business was only $500, the RSP payment would be limited to $2,000 (being four times the drop in revenue).
Further information is available in our detailed article and here: ird.govt.nz/covid-19/business-and-organisations/resurgence-support-payment
The LSS provides a two-week lump sum payment of either $585.80 per week for full-time workers, or $350 per week for part-time workers, who must self-isolate and cannot work from home. More information is available here: workandincome.govt.nz/covid-19/leave-support-scheme
The STAP provides a one-off (once per 30 days) $350 payment for workers who must miss work due to a COVID-19 test and cannot work from home. Further information is available here: workandincome.govt.nz/covid-19/short-term-absence-payment
Please get in touch if you require any assistance on the above: www.nexia.co.nz/contact-us
