Resurgence Wage Subsidy - 2 Week Extension
The Government has opened up another wage subsidy support scheme to assist employers nationwide as the current Levels 2 across NZ and 3 for Auckland. This scheme is called the Resurgent Wage Subsidy. We have now had three rounds of subsidies:
Wage Subsidy (WS)
Wage Subsidy Extension (WSE)
Resurgence Wage Subsidy (RWS).
The Wage Subsidy
This was the initial subsidy that extended over a 12-week period when we initially went into lock down in March 2020.
You can no longer apply for this subsidy.
Wage Subsidy Extension (WSE)
This subsidy was called to support businesses for 8 weeks after the initial lock down was lifted.
You could not apply for the WSE for an employee until their 12-week Wage Subsidy had finished.
Applications for this subsidy opened 10 June 2020 and will close just before midnight on 1 September 2020.
If you have not claimed the WSE, you can still do so until 1 September 2020.
You can apply to cover the wages of your employees over an 8 week period.
You can apply for the WSE for your employee, even if you haven't applied for the Wage Subsidy for them before.
You can't apply for the same wage subsidy for the same employee twice.
If you have applied for the WS or Leave Support Scheme for your employee, you need to wait until those payments are finished before you can apply for the WSE.
You can't receive more than one COVID-19 payment for the same employee at the same time.
Criteria to meet:
You must be an eligible employer
Your business must be in New Zealand
Your employees must be legally working in New Zealand
You must have a 40% decline in revenue for a continuous 30 day period. The 30 day period must be: in the 40 days before you apply (but no earlier than 10 May 2020) or compared to the closest period last year. The decline must also be related to COVID
You must be able to demonstrate attempts to mitigate the financial impact on COVID.
You must retain the employees you are applying for.
Resurgence Wage Subsidy
The RWS is a two-week payment for businesses who meet the criteria.
Your 2-week payment will run from the date you apply.
Applications can be made from 1pm on 21 August 2020 to 3 September 2020. It is open to employers throughout New Zealand.
If you have already claimed, received and used the WSE, you can now apply for the RWS.
Criteria to meet: The criteria to meet is the same as the criteria for the WSE, with the exception of the revenue loss period– for the RWS, you must have had or expect to have a revenue drop of at least 40% for a 14-day period, between 12 August to 10 September 2020, compared to a similar period past year.
The decline must also be related to COVID-19.
When to apply: You can apply for the Resurgence Wage Subsidy from 1pm on 21 August until 3 September 2020.
NOTE: You can't receive the Resurgence Wage Subsidy if you are already getting other COVID-19 payments like the WSE or the Leave Support Scheme for an employee.
You'll be asked to declare you meet the criteria and agree to the obligations for the use of this payment. All payments will be subject to audits and reviews.
