Essential Workers Leave Support
06 April 2020The rates are the same as for the Wage Subsidy Scheme at $585.80 per week (or $350.00 per week if working less than 20 hours per week). Employers should use best endeavours to pay 80% of normal earnings. No employee should get more than their usual weekly income (which may be less than the above rates of subsidy).
What your business can apply for depends on your circumstances:
IF BUSINESS REVENUE HAS DECLINED BY 30%:
Essential Businesses – You can apply for either:
- The Wage Subsidy or
- The Essential Workers Leave Support.
You can apply for both payments, but you can’t claim both for the same person at the same time.
Non-Essential Businesses – You can apply for the Wage Subsidy (because your revenue has declined by 30%), but not the Essential Workers Leave Support scheme (because you're not an essential business).
IF BUSINESS REVENUE HAS NOT DECLINED BY 30%:
Essential Businesses – You can apply for the Essential Workers Leave Support, but not the Wage Subsidy (because your revenue has not declined by 30%).
Non-Essential Businesses - You can't apply for either the Essential Workers Leave Support (because you're not an essential business) or the Wage Subsidy (because you haven’t had a 30% decline in revenue).
MAKING AN APPLICATION
Here is the link to the Essential Workers Leave Support application form:
There is no requirement to provide any medical certificate with your application, but obviously you should satisfy yourself that the employee’s circumstances are genuine and satisfy the criteria, because you will be the one who has to justify your actions if and when you're audited.