The Government has extended the wage subsidy to cover an extra 8 weeks, beginning from the end of the original 12-week period.  If you applied for the Wage Subsidy, MSD will email you when you can apply for the extension.

If you didn’t apply for the Wage Subsidy, you can still apply for the extension if you have a 40% decline in revenue over a period of 30 out of 40 days.  The 40-day period must be in the 40 days before you apply, but can start no earlier than 10 May 2020.  The decline must also be Covid-19 related.

Example:

You apply for the extension on 11 June 2020.  You compare revenue from 12 May – 10 June 2020 with 12 May – 10 June 2019.  However, if your business experienced continuous growth from May/June 2019, you can compare May/June 2020 with 40 days in another period, say August/September 2019.  This only applies if you have had continuous growth, not just one exceptional month.

Remember, you must retain all the employees named in your application for the period of the extension.  You must try and pay staff at least 80% of their usual wage.  If that isn’t possible, you must pay them the subsidy amount that applies to them.  If their wages are lower than the subsidy, continue to pay them their normal pay.

All the info you need to apply is here https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/covid-19/wage-subsidy-extension/index.html, or get in touch and we can help you through it.