COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme

What is the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme?

If your client has told you that you are not needed to work for the next four weeks during the Level 4 COVID-19 lockdown period (ie you have no income for the next four weeks), you may be eligible for the NZ Government COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme. This is intended for workers and employers whose revenue has been adversely affected by COVID-19.

You may be eligible for either:

• $585.80 for people working 20+ hours per week
• $350.00 for people working less than 20 hours per week

The subsidy covers 12 weeks of wages, and you can only receive the payments once.

Click here for more information about NZ Government COVID-19 financial support plan.

Who is the eligible for the Wage Subsidy Scheme?

Workers on the Mycare platform are self-employed individual contractors. If you’re an employer, contractor, sole-trader or self-employed, you may qualify to get the COVID-19 wage subsidy.

You must be physically located in New Zealand and hold the legal right to work in New Zealand. You must have experienced a minimum 30% decline in actual or predicted revenue over the period of a month compared with the same month in 2019, and that decline is related to COVID-19. To be eligible you must had taken active steps to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on your income.

Click here for more information about the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme eligibility.

How to apply

Applications are done through the NZ Work and Income website. As a self-employed individual contractor, you will need your IRD number, contact details, and bank account number to apply.

1. Check you are eligible against the criteria given for receiving the COVID-19 wage subsidy.
2. Fill out the application form for self-employed workers found on the Work and Income website under ‘Apply for Wage Subsidy or Leave Payment’ found here.
3. Your eligibility will be checked, and you may be contacted for additional information regarding your application if needed.
4. If your application is approved you will be contacted and payment will be made, if it is declined you will be notified.

If you have any questions regarding this process, get in contact with Work and Income on 0800 599 009. For general questions or concerns, feel free to email our customer service team at hello@mycare.co.nz or call us on 0800 677 700.