COVID-19:

Employee Guide

 

The Covid-19 outbreak has brought about unprecedented social and economic disruption for New Zealanders. You may be facing reduced or lost income during this time and need to adapt to your new circumstances, even if they are only temporary.

We have put together some resources and information below that you may find helpful, including a pdf factsheet for employees available for download here.

If you believe that your employer has treated you badly by

  • forcing you to take annual leave or sick leave;

  • terminated you employment;

  • retained or not given you assess to the wage subsidy;

  • has put you at risk;

  • made other unfair changes to your terms and conditions of work;

then visit www.together.org.nz, which has been established by NZ Trade Unions to support all employees.

 
 
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Employment

Wage Subsidy scheme

If your employer is eligible for the Wage Subsidy scheme, these are the entitlements for employees:

  • If your regular working hours (pre-Covid-19) were 20 hours per week or more, you are eligible for a subsidy of $585.80 per week for 12 weeks

  • If your regular working hours (pre-Covid-19) were less than 20 hours per week, you are eligible for a subsidy of $350 per week for 12 weeks

  • If your regular salary (pre-Covid-19) was below these amounts, you will be paid your regular salary amount

  • If your regular salary (pre-Covid-19) was above these amounts, your employer is expected to endeavour to pay you 80% of your regular salary. The wage subsidy is to assist them in meeting this goal.

  • The wage subsidy is taxable, and the employer will need to deduct the usual deductions on it (PAYE, student loan, KiwiSaver, etc)

Please note that you will need to give your employer consent to pass your information on to the Ministry of Social Development.  

Workplace closures (temporary or permanent)

Because Covid-19 will most likely be classed as a Force Majeure event, your employer may have the right to terminate employment without notice and/or avoid payment of redundancy pay, or pay in lieu of notice. Appropriate selection (assuming not all staff are made redundant) would in our opinion still need to be followed to some degree to avoid unfair dismissal claims from arising.

Temporary closure, downsizing or mothballing of a business are all events that could arise as a result of Covid-19, and hence an employer will have discretion to decide what is best for their business operations. An employee’s rights will be curtailed to a large degree by this extraordinary event.

There is detailed information on the Work and Income website about what assistance is available to you if you have been made redundant.

 
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Debt Management

  • If you are worried you cannot make a repayment, be sure to talk to your creditor beforehand. You may be able to agree on a new payment plan that takes into account your current financial situation.

  • Reprioritise your spending. This may involve cutting back on unnecessary expenses for the short term and focusing on the basics.

  • Temporarily suspend loan repayments or switch to interest-only payments for the short term to potentially ease some of your financial burden. Consolidate loans to make repayments more manageable to ease some stress.

Mortgage Payment Holiday

The Government, in conjunction with retail banks and the Reserve Bank, announced a six-month principal and interest mortgage payment holiday on 24 March 2020 for people whose incomes have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

A few important things to note about this:

  • Interest will still accrue on your loan during the repayment holiday and the deferred interest will be added to the principal amount of your loan

  • Your bank will assess your suitability of each customer requesting a deferral

  • You will need to contact your bank directly if this is something you are interested in

Need some advice on managing your debt? Contact us on 0800 DEBT 101

Budgeting Tool

Now is a good time to take a look at your income and plan accordingly to ensure you have a clear idea of incomings and outgoings.

Sorted has a handy budgeting tool that you can use as a starting point for your financial planning or start our personalised assessment process by following this link.

 
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Assistance and Personal Protection

The Government has introduced a number of new initiatives as well as amendments to existing schemes in order to assist New Zealanders during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Protection for tenants 

A freeze on rent increases came into effect on 26 March 2020 and will be in effect for at least six months, though the Government may choose to extend this. 

Ban on evictions or terminations of tenancies unless there are exceptional circumstances or both parties agree for the duration of the lockdown period. Tenants can still terminate their tenancies as normal. 

If a tenant had given notice prior, they can rescind this and remain at the property during the lock-down period if need be. Tenants are still liable for rent payments, paying for property damage etc during this time as usual. 

The restrictions around tenancy terminations came into effect 26 March 2020 and will apply for at least three months, though the Government may choose to extend this. 

The priority at this time is to keep people within their homes where they can effectively self-isolate and prevent the further spread of Covid-19. If you need information on emergency housing, please see the Work and Income website.

Winter Energy Payment and change to Benefits package

The Government has agreed to double the amount paid through the Winter Energy Payment for this year (1 May – 1 October 2020). 

  • Single people with no dependent children will receive $40.91 a week.

  • Couples and people with dependent children will receive $63.64 a week.

You can find out more about the Winter Energy Payment and your eligibility on the Work and Income website.

If you need help with urgent costs like power, gas, water or heating, you may be eligible for assistance from Work and Income.

From 1 April 2020, a $25 per week increase will apply to all main benefits. This change is permanent. Work and Income are also removing the hours test from the In Work Tax Credit to assist those who may face variable hours.

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Take care of your mental health

Call or text 1737 any time, 24 hours a day if you want to speak with a trained counsellor. These are trying times for all of us, it’s okay to ask for help.

 

DISCLAIMER

This is a guide only, prepared from information publicly available, however that information published by government and other parties is forever changing, and it may be that the information contained herein is inaccurate or incomplete at the time that you visit our website. It is an interpretation only and does not constitute legal advice.  Each businesses’ or person’s situation will be different and their rights, obligations and entitlements will need to be reviewed on that basis.  Specific legal advice may be required dependent on the nature of the circumstances applicable to them individually.