LETS GET DOWN TO BUSINESS.

Question :
Two part question. The first : My partner flys for a certain airline. If she happens to catch Covid 19 while working and is unable to perform her duties, is her loss of income covered by the airline through ACC etc?? 2nd Part : If the same scenario happens & she contracts Covid 19 while working and is then made redundant due to the downturn in the industry, what legal cover does she have in this instance? Thank you.
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First part of your question – yes there are grants for businesses to cover the costs / contribute to as a result of employees having to self-isolate and/or having being diagnosed with Covid-19 – see a bit of detail at this page – https://covid19.govt.nz/help-and-advice/for-businesses-and-organisations/employers/
the 2nd part, I really am not aware of the legal situation, so hoping others will come on and contributing.
Also @anna-irving provided this helpful link that has a bunch of information https://workandincome.govt.nz/documents/eligibility/emergencies/redundancy-information-for-employers-coronavirus-.pdf
Thanks Jah for the question. Someone has reached out to ACC and will come back on that later. In the meantime I’d suggest you look at the FAQ’s for the Leave Payment Subsidy here – https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/other-types-of-leave/coronavirus-workplace/leave-payment/ – it outlines how the pay is to be used for self-isolation and/or recovery and also talks about employers allowing other types of leave to be used to ensure income is maintained.
As for your question regarding redundancies. The employment legislation in NZ has remained the same so the proper process for redundancies, etc is still in place. Whether there is anything to be handled with COVID-19 in a redundancy situation is best left for a discussion with an employment lawyer if necessary (and I hope it won’t be) that is specific to your partner’s particular circumstances.
Hi there that’s a great question – The ACC website has some specific information relating to Covid:
For individuals, they say “You need to have an injury that resulted from an accident to receive support from ACC. We don’t cover things like illness.” “However, in some cases, cover for the COVID-19 virus may be available if a person who is diagnosed with it meets the criteria for a work-related gradual process, disease or infection under section 30 of the ACC Act 2001. Please speak to your healthcare professional for guidance.”
For more detail, try this link: https://www.acc.co.nz/covid-19/clientsJust note, the Government has tweaked the self-isolation and sickness provisions as a result of feedback – see here https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12320433 and here https://covid19.govt.nz/help-and-advice/for-businesses-and-organisations/employers/
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