The COVID-19 Short-Term Absence Payment helps businesses keep paying employees who cannot work from home and:
- need to stay at home while waiting for a COVID-19 test result.
- need to stay home and look after a dependent child who has been asked to get a COVID-19 test
- live with someone who has been at a location of interest and need to stay home while they wait for the person in the household to get a negative test result.
Employees on a casual contract are also eligible for the payment.
You can get a one-off amount of $359 for each eligible worker while they are staying home waiting for test results. The amount is the same for both full time and part time employees.
You can apply for the Short-Term Absence Payment any time, not just when there is a risk of community transmission, or change in Alert Levels.
Click here to see more information and how to apply
You will need:
your IRD number
your business name
your business address
your New Zealand Business Number (NZBN)
the names of your employees
your employee IRD numbers
contact details for your business and your employees.
New Zealand Business Number (NZBN)
NZBN is a globally unique 13 digit number.
To find your NZBN, if you are a company: type your business name in the search bar on this website
If you are a sole trader, partnership or trust you will need to apply for a NZBN here. You will need a New Zealand driver license or NZ passport.
We can help with this application process if needed. Please contact us.
More Information
There is further information on Work and Income website here.
You can also download the factsheet for wage subsidy and leave payments from here.
Contact Us
Contact Tim Doyle or Jane Evans today for a no obligation phone call or meeting on 07 823 4980 or contact us. Our office is in Cambridge, NZ, but distance is no problem. We have many international and national clients.
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
