COVID-19 Support and Help for Business No images? Click here Hi It is great to see Spring is in the air, the blossoms are out and daylight savings begins. Clocks go forward by 1 hour on 26 September at 2am, yes, we lose an hour, but gain the option to entertain longer into the evenings with our friends and who doesn't love that. As we eagerly await our newly appointed CEO Patrick McKibbin to start on Monday, the team are getting back to business as normal. With a focus on our employment programme and informing and engaging our business community on the RiverLink project. Great news for the country as Auckland moved to level 3 and restrictions on numbers for gatherings were eased for the rest of the country. The Latest COVID-19 Business UpdatesAccessing the Government Financial Support There is ongoing support for all businesses around New Zealand not just Auckland. While any part of New Zealand is under Level 3 or Level 4 restrictions government support is available for any viable business that meets eligibility criteria anywhere in the country. The government made available a second Resurgence Support payment, on 17 September 2021. This is in addition to the first resurgence payment, you can apply for both. The payment includes a core per business rate of $1,500, plus $400 per employee, up to a total of 50 full-time equivalents (FTEs) which is a maximum payment of $21,500. Businesses with more than 50 FTEs can still apply but cannot get more than the maximum payment. The scheme will be available until all of New Zealand returns to Alert Level 1 for one month. Information on how to apply here. A third wage subsidy opened for applications last Friday 17 September 2021. All businesses across the country can apply for this if they meet criteria. Applications close 30 September 2021, make sure you apply before this date. Information on how to apply here. It was great news for businesses, with Auckland moving to Level 3 at 11.59pm on Tuesday 21 September 2021. Monday's announcement also saw an increase to the number of people who can gather together at Level Two from 50 to 100 indoors. This was effective from 11.59pm, Tuesday 21 and includes hospitality venues. Information on doing business at Level 2 here. MANDATORY RECORDING OF VISITORS in effect now. ![]() Cross Valley Connection AnnouncementThe NZTA Board have endorsed the Cross Valley Connections Programme Business Case otherwise known as the Cross Valley Link. The Cross Valley Link has been talked about since the 1960s and is a critical project for decongesting the Hutt, improving public transport, taking trucks off the Esplanade, and improving walking and cycling. The current business case for the Cross Valley Link notes that the conventional Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) for the programme is 3.6. Once wider economic benefits are taken into account, the BCR increases to 5.3. These are outstanding numbers. In other words, for every $1 invested, the return is over $3. We are thrilled the business case for the Cross Valley Connection has been approved. We believe it will significantly improve travel time for business owners and their staff into and around the Hutt Valley, boost the region's local economy, and increase employment opportunities during construction. We will bring further updates as they are announced. ![]() Employment OpportunitiesOur Employment Coordinator, Andrew Dunne, has been busy catching up with over 30 prospective employers and has upwards of 20 vacancies that he is working to fill. Andrew joined the team just before lockdown but is eager to get stuck in and start to connect employers and candidates looking for work. His primary focus is on 25-35 year old's. Andrew is also coordinating our next Employment Expo taking place late October at NZCIS. NZCIS have generously supported the initiative by providing a venue and hospitality. The Expo will host over 25 businesses who are actively seeking permanent employees and 80 – 100 young people looking for opportunities. The Expo was held last year at Open Polytechnic and had great feedback and resulted in some great Industry engagement. This is a completely free service, so if you have any opportunities for employment within your business that Andrew would be able to assist with or would like more information on his role, Andrew would be eager to hear from you. To contact Andrew please email him or call the Chamber on (04) 939 9821. ![]() Upcoming EventsFacebook Basics for Business ![]() For the third workshop in this series, Silver Partner, Synthesis Marketing is again helping businesses get more confident online. There is no charge to attend this workshop, which will cover: At this session, the team from Synthesis Marketing, will take you through the how to use Facebook for Business.
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