COVID-19 Government Support – What you may be eligible for as employer

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You have probably seen that the Government has announced a COVID-19 package.

Assistance is applicable in two scenarios:

  • you are significantly impacted to pay wages because of the economic impact (30% or more revenue reduction), or
  • your employees are absent from work because of COVID-19.

Am I eligible?

You will be eligible for the subsidies detailed below if you can show that you have suffered, or are projected to suffer, at least a 30% decline in revenue (not profit) compared to last year, for any month between January 2020 and the end of the scheme in June 2020.

Applications can also be made based on forecast revenue loss within the period of the scheme.

All sole traders and the self-employed are also eligible.

What wage subsidies can I apply for?

Wage subsidies for eligible employers will be $585.50 per week for full time employees and $350 per week for part-time employers, for a period up to 12 weeks. The maximum that you can receive is $150,000.

You will need to undertake the following:

– A declaration that, on your best endeavours, you will continue to employ affected employees at a minimum of 80% of their income for the duration of the subsidy period (ending June 2020).

– You must take active steps to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and sign a declaration form to that effect. This could look like engaging with your bank or seeking other financial advice.

You can apply now and for the next 12 weeks. Applications can be made here:  https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/covid-19-support.html#null

MSD aims to make the payments within 5 working days from the date of receiving the application (depending on demand).

What leave subsidies can I apply for?

If your Employees are absent because they have contracted COVID-19, are undertaking government ordered self-isolation or are caring for a dependent in either scenario, you will be eligible for a subsidy to cover the cost of this absence. Your employees must not be able to work from home during this absence.

This absence must have started on 17 March 2020 and can be backdated to this date. Employees who have travelled overseas since 16 March 2020 will not be eligible for their period of self-isolation (apparently on the basis that they have chosen to place themselves in that position).

The subsidy is $585.80 per week for full time staff and $350 per week for part time staff, up to a maximum of 8 weeks. If your Employee is required to self-isolate more than once, you will be able to apply for the subsidy on an ‘as needed’ basis.

These entitlements do not affect existing entitlements, meaning that the Employee’s sick and annual leave balance will not be impacted.

You will need to apply to MSD for these payments https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/products/a-z-benefits/covid-19-support.html#null

MSD aims to make the payments within 5 working days from the date of receiving the application (depending on demand).

The Government has also announced a relaxation on taxation requirements for this year, and we recommend you look into your eligibility for support on that basis.

For advice from our employment law specialists on any of the issues covered above, either call us on 04 801 5427, or contact us via email, and please stay safe:

Paul McBride (Partner) – paul@mdjlaw.co.nz

Guido Ballara (Partner) – guido@mdjlaw.co.nz

Frances Lear (Senior Associate) – frances@mdjlaw.co.nz

Saadi Radcliffe (Solicitor) – saadi@mdjlaw.co.nz

Emma Rose Luxton (Solicitor) – emmarose@mdjlaw.co.nz

Disclaimer – this newsletter is necessarily brief and general in nature.  You should therefore seek professional legal advice before taking any action in relation to any matter addressed above.  © McBride Davenport James

March 2020 – References – it pays to check

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Whether you are asked to provide or are seeking a reference, a recent Human Rights Review Tribunal decision confirms that care is needed. 

Director of Human Rights Proceedings v Katui Early Childhood Leaning Centre Limited [2019] NZHRRTinvolved an employee (Ms A) who thought she had secured a job at Waatea Early Childhood Centre, and so resigned from Katui Early Childhood Centre.  However, on arrival at Waatea she discovered that her references, from Katui personnel, had not been satisfactory and so her employment at Waatea was terminated.  Ms A made a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner about Katui’s interference with her privacy, and the Director of Human Rights Proceedings then took her case to the Human Rights Review Tribunal.

The issue was whether Katui had breached Privacy Principle 11 and if so had interfered with Ms A’s privacy.  For the purposes of this case, Principle 11 states that:

“An agency that holds personal information shall not disclose the information to a person or body or agency unless the agency believes, on reasonable grounds … that the disclosure is authorised by the individual concerned”.

In other words, when Katui provided references to Waatea, was this unlawful?

The answer was yes.  To start with, the Tribunal found that the references provided did contain personal information about Ms A because they were about her, despite involving the referees’ opinions.

Next, the Tribunal found that Ms A had not authorised anyone from Katui except Ms T (her former direct manager) to disclose her personal information, i.e. to be a referee for Ms A.  However, Ms T was not (twice) the person who answered the telephone when Waatea called. 

Finally, the Tribunal found that what the (unofficial referees) said about Ms A, which was not complimentary, did cause Ms A harm.  In this regard, she was not able to provide the referee she had desired for a job that was clearly important to her, and lost that job.

Fortunately for Katui, damages were a fairly modest $3,000.  As part of that, the Tribunal considered that Ms A was unlikely to have secured the new job in any event.  It also found Ms A should have told Waatea expressly that it could only to speak with Ms T.

The takeaway from this case is that whether you are the prospective employer or the employer being approached to give a reference, it is critical to ensure that any individual who provides comment (and not simply the organisation) has the requesting employee’s express consent to be their referee.  And that the organisation knows who is able to speak, and contact is directed accordingly.  Also keep in mind that ‘opinion’ can still be ‘personal information’.

For advice from our employment law specialists on any of the issues covered above, either call us on 04 801 5427, or contact us via email:

Paul McBride (Partner) – paul@mdjlaw.co.nz

Guido Ballara (Partner) – guido@mdjlaw.co.nz

Frances Lear (Senior Associate) – frances@mdjlaw.co.nz

Saadi Radcliffe (Solicitor) – saadi@mdjlaw.co.nz

Emma Rose Luxton (Solicitor) – emmarose@mdjlaw.co.nz

Disclaimer – this newsletter is necessarily brief and general in nature.  You should therefore seek professional legal advice before taking any action in relation to any matter addressed above.  © McBride Davenport James