Australian COVID-19 news

Companies shift to ‘COVID-safe’ workplaces

No more shared cookie jars, fewer meetings, staggered start times and temperature checks before you leave the house – Aussies may be heading back to work, but the office will never be the same.

On the plus side, hot-desking will likely be a thing of the past as the world makes the transition to “post-COVID workplaces”, where hygiene, safety, social distancing and regular cleaning will take the driver’s seat after decades of cost-cutting measures.

And millennials who entered the workforce in the “open plan” era may soon be getting their first taste of the cubicle.

2020 “Rebuilding Together” Budget

Alliott NZ Summary

As expected, the 2020 Budget has been a high spending one with a deficit forecasted to be $29.6 billion in 2021.

Unemployment is projected to increase significantly, peaking at 9.8 per cent in the September 2020 quarter before recovering thereafter.

New Zealand’s real GDP growth rate is projected to decline from 2.8 per cent in the year ending June 2019 to -4.6 per cent in the year ending June 2020. Annual real GDP growth is not forecast to become positive until the year ending June 2022.

The Government’s net core debt is predicted to be 30.2 per cent of GDP in 2019/20, 49.8 per cent of GDP in 2021/22 and 53.6 per cent of GDP in 2023/24.

COVID-19 Alert Level 2 guidelines and restricted trading

The Government announced yesterday that New Zealand will move from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2 at 11.59pm on Wednesday 13 May.

At Alert Level 2 businesses can operate if they’re able to do so safely. To do business safely, the key public health requirements require businesses to maintain hygiene measures, including physical distancing, hand washing and regularly cleaning of surfaces.

COVID-19 Small Business Cashflow Scheme

Last week the Government announced it will provide interest-free loans for a year to small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 to support their immediate cash flow needs and meet fixed costs.

It will provide assistance of up to $100,000 to businesses employing 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees.

What is your plan?

As we continue to “flatten the curve” and government and health advice turns to adjusting COVID-19 measures, employers should start planning how to approach the return to the workplace.   

This one page summary by Ashurst in Australia sets out the key issues for employers to consider now:

COVID-19 Alert Levels

The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced at 4 pm that New Zealand will stay at Alert Level 4 till midnight on Monday 27 April.

As we near the end of the initial four-week lockdown, the Government has released further Tax Measures to assist businesses including more complete information on what Alert Level 3 would mean.
 
Yesterday the Government announced two further tax proposals – Tax Loss Carry Back Scheme and changes to the Tax Loss Continuity Rules.

Alliott NZ Chartered Accountants

COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) – Tax changes to support businesses

Temporary loss carry-back scheme

This temporary change should be introduced in a bill in the week beginning 27 April.

Businesses expecting to make a loss in either the 2019/20 year or the 2020/21 year would be able to estimate the loss and use it to offset profits in the past year. In other words, they could carry the loss back one year.

New Obligations

On 4pm Friday 27 March 2020, modifications to the wage subsidy scheme were announced by the government.

If an employer or business applied for the wage subsidy before this announcement then they are under the original obligations. But if the employer or business is yet to apply, new obligations apply.

Further steps to protect New Zealanders’ jobs

The Government announced the following modifications to the Wage Subsidy Scheme this afternoon.

The Government has made modifications to the wage subsidy scheme to ensure people don’t lose their jobs during the national lockdown.