Back in Lockdown: Covid Support for Businesses

We hope you are safe as New Zealanders deal with this latest community outbreak and lockdown measures. We know many of you will be losing income over this time and the ongoing uncertainty only adds to the stress.

We’re writing to let you know about the financial assistance that might be available to your business under level 4 (and level 3).

Your business may be eligible for one or all of the following:

• Wage Subsidy Scheme
• Resurgence Support Payment
• Leave Support Scheme
• Short-Term Absence Payments
• Small Business Cashflow (Loan) Scheme
• Business Debt Hibernation

Read about all the support available, and find out more, here.

One-off Resurgence Support Payment

If your business experiences a 30% drop in revenue due to the new alert level, you could be eligible for payments of $1900 for sole traders or a maximum of $21,500 for businesses with 50 full-time employees.

Wage Subsidy applications opened August 20th

The Wage Subsidy is available to eligible businesses – including sole traders and the self-employed – and has increased to $600 per week, per full-time employee. Applications opened at 9am on Friday 20 August, initially for two weeks.

Support for team members who are self-isolating or have covid-19

The Short-Term Absence Payments cover people who can’t work because they need to self-isolate. This payment will be $359 for each eligible worker from August 24. For any team members who have covid (or for you if you’re self-employed), the Leave Support Scheme pays $600 per week for full-time workers from August 24.

Borrow from the SBCS – or borrow again

The Small Business Cashflow Scheme (SBCS) is a loan available to small businesses affected by a drop in revenue, including sole traders and the self-employed. It supports cashflow and provides $10,000 per business, plus an additional $1800 per equivalent full-time employee. This is interest-free if paid back within two years, and if you’ve borrowed before but paid it back already, you can borrow again.

We’re working remotely to support our clients

We know this is a stressful time for many of our clients, and we’re here to offer all the help and support we can. We can apply for financial assistance on your behalf and demonstrate your eligibility for any of these support payments to the Inland Revenue.

Our team is still operating, from their homes, so you can reach us on email or phone – (06) 878 8824 – don’t hesitate to reach out and we can help you access any financial support that’s available to you.