With more businesses returning to work as lockdown restrictions are eased, questions around the use of the 12-week wage subsidy are arising. One question we’d like to focus on here is around contractors who received the Wage Subsidy in a lump sum payment but who have since been able to return to work at Alert Level 3.
“No one wants to see us go backwards,” said Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern on 28 April, the day after lockdown restrictions were downgraded from Alert Level 4 to Level 3. That point was reinforced at the news conference on 7 May regarding our potential move down to Level 2 as early as next week.
While the government’s wage subsidy helped companies with staffing costs, it appears that the Government has ruled out subsidising the rents for businesses struggling to pay the rent on their commercial property. Instead, it is considering a law change to place a greater onus on landlords and tenants to negotiate a fair reduction.
