• Advice for retailers operating under Level 3 is available at retail.org.nz
• Auckland Council is working with cafes and restaurants provide contactless pickup options under Level 3.
• Alert Level 3 FAQs

Marketing

• Join the Facebook group New Zealand Made Products, run by Manurewa local Sarah Colcord.  The group links NZ businesses with over 280,000 kiwis keen to support NZ businesses.
• Register your restaurant or eatery with Our Local, a database of open businesses by neighbourhood.  Whilst Manurewa hasn’t been published yet, you can register your business for when they switch it on.
• Get a free customised digital action plan with ATEED’s Digital Assessment tool

Business Mentoring

• The Auckland Chamber of Commerce is offering free business mentoring during this period – call 0800 543 543 to find out more.
• Pasifika businesses can access free business support services at Pacific Business Trust

Financial assistance

• A reminder of government financial assistance can be found on www.covid19.govt.nz, covering Wage Subsidy and Leave Schemes, Business Finance Guarantee Scheme, Business Cashflow & Tax measures and Support for Maori communities and businesses.
• Commentary on commercial lease obligations courtesy of Barfoot & Thompson Commerical and NZ Dispute Resolution Centre, both of which feature discussion on what constitutes the definition of ’emergency’ under Clause 27.5 of the standard Auckland District Law Society commercial lease template.

Further reading and viewing

• Take a look at The Spinoff article I own a small business. What do I do now? 
• Rebuilding Paradise with Paul Henry is a nightly half-hour show hosted by on Three.  They discuss the future of business and life after coronavirus with guests such as John Key, Zuru founder Nick Mowbray and Peter Beck of Rocket Labs.

• If there is any doubt if your business is an Essential Service, it is probably not – CLOSE your doors and send your staff home.
• Remember to maintain Social Distance of at least 2 meters between people at your place of essential business.
• Dairies must operate a one-in-one-out rule, and cannot sell cooked food.

If your place of work IS an essential service, please remember to follow the steps to keep your staff and employees safe:

• limiting, or eliminating if possible, physical interaction with and between customers, eg through online or phone orders, contactless delivery or managed entry (while also avoiding crowding outside), and physical distancing both inside and outside the premises
• hygiene basics of hand washing and sanitisers
• frequent cleaning of premises, especially counters and eftpos terminals, and other high-touch surfaces (cleaning advice is available on the Ministry of Health website)
• protective equipment for staff as appropriate.

For advice and support for essential businesses please contact 0800 22 66 57 (9 am–5 pm, Monday–Friday).

Economic Response Package

The Government has recently expanded on its COVID-19 economic response package. The package now includes:

• No annual revenue limits to wage subsidy scheme
• Business Finance Guarantee scheme announced
• IRD cashflow and tax measures

Wage subsidy scheme

Wage subsidies are available for all employers that are significantly impacted by COVID-19 and are struggling to retain employees as a result. The scheme is open to all businesses, including sole traders and the self-employed.  A subsidy of $585.80 per week for full-time employees is available in certain situations.

COVID-19 employer support (external link) — Work and Income

If you are claiming this subsidy it MUST be passed on in full to your employees.  Ideally you would top up this amount to match your employee’s current rate, and the employee must be retained on your books at a minimum of 80% of their normal wage or salary.  An example courtesy of Tony Parkes at Bonded NZ Ltd Specialist Insurance:

Employee on Salary of $60,000 = $1153.85 per week.
You reduce their hours by 20% – cost to you is therefore $923.08 per week.
You receive a subsidy of $585.80 per week.
Net cost to you is $337.28 per week.

This is $337.28 for 32 hours of 40 per week = equivalent cost of $10.54 per hour.

Business Finance Guarantee Scheme

A $6.25m Mortgage Repayment Holiday and Business Finance Guarantee Scheme will provide short-term credit to cushion the financial distress on solvent small and medium-sized firms affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

The scheme will include a limit of $500,000 per loan and will apply to firms with a turnover of between $250,000 and $80 million per annum. The loans will be for a maximum of three years and expected to be provided by the banks at competitive, transparent rates.

Details are being worked through the major banks and the governement – further details are expected to be announced in the next few days.

Business cash flow and tax measures

There are a number of business cash flow and tax measures that have been announced – information can be found on the Inland Revenue website.

COVID-19 tax relief (external link) — Inland Revenue

Rent and commercial leases

The Government has announced that they are preparing a support package for commercial lease holders, however they have not given a date for when that will be released, what it will look like, or how it will work yet.

If you are having problems meeting your commercial rent obligations, talk to your landlord and try to keep in mind that there is no easy answer for either party. For those who are able to wait for the outcome of the Clause 27.5 interpretation, and the release of Government support package, we would recommend you do so. Both tenants and landlords may come under immense financial pressure during this period so neither side is going to have an easy run though this.

Hopefully the Government will come forward with a package that will allow relief for the tenants without transferring excess financial pressure onto landlords. Ultimately we all want to try and survive this and no-one wants to see business closures or mortgagee sales.

Click here or more information on Auckland District Law Society clause 27.5 and other rent and commercial lease discussion, courtesy of Barfoot & Thompson Commercial.