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Government announces COVID-19 Resurgence Wage Subsidy

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Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson has announced details of a 2-week COVID-19 Resurgence Wage Subsidy payment.

This payment is available nationally for employers who are financially impacted by the resurgence of COVID-19 and changes to COVID Alert Levels. The 2-week payment will run from the date you apply.

We appreciate and support the extension to the wage subsidy. However, we would have liked to see the subsidy threshold dropped to 30% rather than the confirmed 40%. We also believe the scheme should have been extended beyond two weeks.

It is clear from speaking to our members that further financial support will be necessary, specific to our industry.

Hospitality businesses are still paying fixed costs even when closed or partially open and some decisions on commercial lease payments, which we have now been waiting on since April, is critical. Without this, we will face closure rates of at least 20 per cent if not more.

We are currently seeking clarification on points regarding applying for both the Wage Subsidy Extension and the Resurgence Wage Subsidy. Currently our initial view is that while the Resurgence Wage Subsidy is now an option available to a number of businesses, with many members closed at Level 3, or facing significantly reduced turnover, we recommend that you first assess whether your business is now eligible for the Wage Subsidy Extension. Even if it was not before. You can apply for the Wage Subsidy Extension up until 1st September (your business must have experienced a minimum 40% decline in revenue for a continuous 30 day period).

You can apply for the Resurgence Wage Subsidy from 1pm on 21 August until 3 September 2020. You can’t receive the Resurgence Wage Subsidy if you are already getting other COVID-19 payments like the Wage SubsidyWage Subsidy Extension or the Leave Support Scheme for an employee.


A reminder that you can send us feedback on this and other topics regarding covid-19 and our recovery. Use this feedback form on our Hospitality Taskforce page.

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