With NZ in lockdown, the various government support packages are beginning to be rolled out. Confusingly, there is different criteria for each. So before applying for any subsidy/payment, check the criteria for that particular payment.
There are a bunch available depending on circumstances, but the two most common are the Wage Subsidy which is administered by Work and Income, and the Resurgence Support Payment which is administered by IRD.
The Wage Subsidy pays for 2 weeks: $600 per week per full time employee (FT is classified as 20 hours or more per week), and $359 per week for part time employee (PT is less than 20 hours per week). Applications become available at 9am on Friday the 20th. This is the link for checking eligibility criteria and to apply. While this payment is for 2 weeks, it may change depending on how long we are in lockdown.
The Resurgence Support Payment is up to $1,500 PLUS $400 per full time employee, up to a maximum of 50 full time employees. Applications become available at 8am Tuesday the 24th. This is the link to the eligibility criteria. This is the link to the application.
We have also done a quick q&a video about subsidies and paying staff over lockdown, it is available here.
Information from Employment New Zealand about employment and Covid-19 can be found here.
Information about other forms of support available to business can be found here.
If you are in business or self-employed, we encourage you to check the eligibility criteria for both the wage subsidy and resurgence support payment. If after checking the criteria, you’re not sure that you qualify, please do get in touch.
Finally, the 28th of this month is a date that many tax payments are due. If the current lockdown means that you are unable to make a tax payment, please let us know by filling in the form available here. You will still need to pay the tax, but we will let IRD know in advance, so they (shouldn’t) pester you unnecessarily.