Employers to get $350 payments for staff awaiting Covid test results, but unable to work from home

Monday, 8 February 2021

Cars queue up at the North Harbour pop up Covid testing station after two new community cases were uncovered

A new government fund for employees who need to self-isolate after a Covid-19 test is being celebrated as a valuable safety tool.

Under the new Short-Term Absence Payment, Employers with staff who can’t work from home, but have been told to self-isolate pending a Covid-19 test result, will qualify for a $350 government payment.

The payment will become available from Tuesday, February 9, Carmel Sepuloni, minister for social development and employment said.

Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff said the policy would play an important part in supporting people to take time off work while awaiting test results.

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“We know that when employers stop paying people or reduce entitlements, some working people are forced to return to work when they should not,' he said.

Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni hoped the Short-Term Absence Payment would relieve the financial pressure on businesses which had staff who were self-isolating until they recieved their Covid-19 test results, but could not work from home.

'The system around this payment does rely on employers doing the right thing; insisting that working people stay away from work if that is what medical professionals have indicated is necessary.”

The scheme would also cover workers who were the caregivers of people who needed to self-isolate pending a test result, but couldn’t do it safely without support.

“Business has a key role to play in helping New Zealand navigate the Covid-19 pandemic,” Sepuloni said.

“Testing for Covid-19 remains a critical ongoing element in our elimination strategy. We need people to take the test if they feel unwell and removing any barriers is important.”

The scheme would also cover workers who were a household member, or “secondary contact”, of someone who had been in close contact with a person with Covid-19, pending test results for the close contact.

Chris Wilkinson of First Retail Group said the payment would be useful in avoiding situations like the case in November, when a woman who was found to have Covid-19 continued to work at women's clothing store A - Z Collection on High Street, in central Auckland after being tested for the virus.

“It will give people more confidence to [self-isolate], particularly in those sectors where procedures aren't so clear,” he said.

“For larger employers, they’ve got good standards in place, but it’s going to be useful particularly for smaller businesses.”

EMA Chief Executive Brett O’Riley said the payment would break down a number of barriers.

'It takes away the ambiguity for employers of what kind of leave it should be; helps them with their costs; and it removes the economic concerns of employers worried about not being at work,' he says.

'For our SME business members, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing where working from home is often simply not possible - as well as those who are self-employed - this will be a welcome relief.'

Sepuloni hoped the payments would reduce financial pressure on businesses.

Businesses would be able to claim the $350 payments for up to eight weeks after a worker had to self-isolate or support a family member to self-isolate.

The Short-Term Absence Payment scheme was not designed to cover workers who had no symptoms, and who were tested in a routine testing programme.

Where workers had run out of sick leave days, or were not entitled to be paid when off sick, employers should try to pay their worker as if they had worked that day, or pay them at least the full amount of the Short-Term Absence Payment while they were waiting for their test result, Sepuloni said.

“If an employee’s usual wages are less than or equal to the Short-Term Absence Payment, the business must pay the worker their usual wages. Any difference should be used to help pay any other affected staff,” she said.

If a business applied more than once for the same employee within 30 days, MSD would contact them to confirm that the appropriate criteria have been met for the second application.

Businesses would not have to show they had lost revenue to be eligible for the $350 payment.