IMPORTANT COVID-19 Resurgence Support & Wage Subsidy Announcement

Posted on by Annè Lensink

3 minutes to read

Today the Government announced a reinstatement of the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy, with applications for payments opening on Thursday 04 March and payments made on Monday 08 March. In addition to this announcement, the Government has also outlined eligibility criteria for the COVID-19 Resurgence Support Package. Please see more information on both of these support packages below:

COVID-19 Wage Subsidy

To be eligible for the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy you must show a 40% decline in revenue for 14 consecutive days between 14 February and 21 March 2021. To calculate your revenue decline you must use a typical 14 day period from the six weeks prior to 14 February 2021.

How much?

The amount paid to employers has not changed from previous subsidies. The subsidy is set at a flat rate and paid to employers as a lump sum to cover two weeks per named employee:

  • $585.80 for people working 20 hours or more per week
  • $350.00 for people working less than 20 hours per week
How do you apply?

Applications open tomorrow Thursday 04 March via the Work & Income NZ website. 

COVID-19 Resurgence Support Package

The Government releases a new ‘round’ of COVID-19 Resurgence Support Package (RSP) each time our Alert Level is raised above Level 1. To be eligible, businesses must show a 30% decline in revenue during the increased alert level period, compared to a similar typical revenue period. 

A RSP is currently open to help businesses who have suffered a revenue decline for the alert level increase on 14 February, this round will close on 22 March. A second RSP will open on 08 March for the alert level increase of 28 February. Businesses will need to make an application for one or both of the alert level periods, if they are eligible.

How much?

Eligible businesses may receive the lesser of:

  • $1,500 plus $400 per full-time equivalent (FTE) employee, up to a maximum of 50 FTEs
  • four times (4x) the actual revenue drop experienced by the business.

Find out more about the COVID-19 RSP on the IRD website. 

How do you apply?

Apply via the IRD website.

Need more information?

As always, the Villa team is here to help with any questions you may have. Please give us a call on 09 4340 771, we will also be responding to emails but if your question is urgent it is best to call us!

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