Covid-19 financial support for businesses
Summary of Covid-19 Isolation leave and financial support
Some of you may be wondering about the implications should kaiako need to isolate or stay away from work while waiting for Covid-19 test results. There’s a lot of information going around and changing frequently, so it can be hard to know what’s what. We’ve put together some information that summarises current information on Covid isolation leave and financial support to help you make decisions based on your own situation. You can view this here.
Overview of support available under the Covid-19 Protection Framework (traffic light system)
Short-Term Absence Payment
The Covid-19 Short-Term Absence Payment is available to employers to pay workers who follow public health guidance and are staying home while waiting for a Covid-19 test result.
It is also available to eligible self-employed workers. To be eligible, workers need to be unable to work from home and need to miss work while waiting for the test results.
The payment is $350 for each worker. Employers or the self-employed can apply for any worker once in any 30-day period.
More information and how to apply can be found here.
Leave Support Scheme
The Covid-19 Leave Support Scheme is available for employers, including self-employed people, to help pay their employees who need to self-isolate and can't work from home.
This means your employees:
- can't come into work because they are in one of the affected groups and have been told to self-isolate, and
- can't work from home.
The Covid-19 Leave Support scheme is paid at the rate of $600 a week for each full-time worker and $359 a week for part-time employees.
More information about the Leave Support Scheme can be found here.
How to apply for the Leave Support Scheme can be found here.
Small business cash flow loan scheme (SBCS)
The Small Business Cashflow Scheme (SBCS) was introduced to support small to medium businesses and organisations struggling with a loss of actual revenue due to Covid-19. Applications are open until 31 December 2023.
You can apply through myIR. Go to the 'I want to' section and select 'Apply for the small business loan'.
If your business has 50 or fewer full-time equivalent staff, you may be eligible to receive a one-off loan. The maximum amount loaned is $10,000 plus $1,800 per full-time-equivalent employee. The annual interest rate will be 3% beginning from the date of the loan being provided. Interest will not be charged if the loan is fully paid back within two years.
Covid-19: Small business cash flow loan scheme eligibility tool can be found here.
Support that was available under the old Level system
Wage Subsidy Scheme
The Wage Subsidy Scheme has ended as we have now moved to the Covid-19 Protection Framework (traffic light settings).
Business debt hibernation
Business debt hibernation is now closed. If a business has already set up the arrangement, and creditors have agreed, they still get a further six months of protection from when their creditors agreed to their proposal.
Resurgence Support Payment
The Resurgence Support Payment (RSP) was a payment to help support
viable and ongoing businesses or organisations which have experienced a
30% drop in revenue due to a Covid-19 alert level increase to level 2 or
higher.