The Government announced on 17 August 2020 a new round of the wage subsidy, in response to current lockdown restrictions.
The Resurgence Wage Subsidy is a 2-week payment. Businesses will need to show a 40% drop during a period of at least 14 days between 12 August and 10 September 2020, when compared to last year. New businesses can compare their revenue against a more recent 14 day period that gives the best estimation of the revenue decline related to COVID-19.
The Resurgence Wage Subsidy is open for applications from this Friday 21 August at 1 pm until 3 September 2020. Details are still quite brief and we expect more information to be released as the week goes on and more tinkering of the rules that we’ve seen before! For example, there’s currently no comment about paying 80% of wages.
The Wage Subsidy Extension (2nd subsidy) is still in play, although we expect there may be some adjustment to the criteria before Friday as there is an overlap with the Resurgence subsidy. Businesses need to show a 40% drop during a continuous 30 day period between 10 May and 1 September 2020, when compared to last year, counting back 40 days from the application date. New businesses can compare their revenue against a more recent 14 day period that gives the best estimation of the revenue decline related to COVID-19. Applications close on 1 September 2020. You should aim to pay at least 80% of usual wages.
You can’t apply for both subsidies at the same time
Otherwise, both subsidies have the same features:
- Payment rates remain at $585.80 for full time and $350 for part time, under 20 hours per week
- You can claim for shareholder employees who would normally earn income from the business
- you must retain the employees you’re applying for
- you must mitigate the financial impact by drawing from your cash reserves or making an insurance claim
We recommend holding off rushing to apply and consider carefully which subsidy the business qualifies for and which would be more advantageous.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss what you qualify for, please contact us on our main office line 09 238 5939 or email info@engineroomca.co.nz
