Yesterday we sent a reminder of Federal Government programs and key dates. Today we are sending reminder information on Provincial Government subsidies to help ensure that you are not missing any opportunity for funding that you may be eligible to apply for.
Essential Worker Support Program (EWSP)
On June 15th the Provincial Government announced details surrounding the administration of the Essential Worker Support Program previously announced on April 15 the by the Federal Government. This program is designed to support low income essential workers with a one-time payment to individuals who meet eligibility criteria and who work in professions included in the Government of
Canada’s document “Guidelines on Essential Services and Functions in Canada During the COVID19 Pandemic”.
Administration of the program delivery will be through the Provincial Government’s Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour. The criteria for qualification or the on-time payment include meeting the definition of an essential worker and income and hours worked thresholds. The eligibility period announced for this program runs from March 15th to July 4th. The Newfoundland and
Labrador Essential Worker Program provides a temporary wage top-up to essential workers employed during Alert levels 4 and 5 that have a maximum gross monthly income of $3,000 and have not received the CERB during the related time period.
The top-up is calculated based on hours worked and pays a maximum benefit of $1,500. Employers will receive 10% of the employee benefits to cover Mandatory Employer Related Costs (MERC) such as employer portions of CPP and EI.
Employers must apply for the benefit on behalf of their employees. If you are unsure as to if your employees qualify for this program, a listing of essential workers is provided on the federal and provincial websites as noted below.
The application process opens on July 6th through the provincial government online application process in LaMPSS. The deadline to apply for EWSP is July 30th.
More information on this program is available at the following links:
Link to guide of essential workers is found here: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/crtclnfrstrctr/esf-sfe-en.aspx
Program details and application information is found here: https://www.gov.nl.ca/aesl/essentialworkers-program/
Announcement: https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2020/exec/0615n04
Employer Compensation for Workers in Self-isolation due to COVID-19 Travel Restrictions
On April 29th the provincial government announced a subsidy for private sector employees, including those self-employed. Employers will be reimbursed for continuation of employee’s pay associated with the time they were off work due to the requirement to self-isolate following their return from outof-the-province due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The maximum amount of provincial funding is $500 per week of a combined maximum of $1,000 per week for employees receiving both federal and provincial funding.
Filing Extensions
Please note that a number of Provincial Government filing deadline extensions announced during COVID-19 are due June 23, 2020.
A complete listing of all Government of Newfoundland extensions announced can be found here: https://www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19/business-supports/
Service to Our Clients – Level 2 Operations
As our province prepares to move to Alert Level 2 on June 25th, many of our staff will return to our offices to continue to provide exemplary service to our clients, however we have decided that our offices will remain closed to public access. The drop off and receiving area that we have established on the ground floor of our building will remain available for those clients unable to utilize pdf
technology to provide your documents to us in electronic format via our secure portal or via email.
Signage is provided at our main entrance to direct you to the drop off location which shall be open from 8:30 to 5:00 Monday to Friday.
We continue to provide services to our clients utilizing secure remote access. We are committed, as always, to fully serving your needs and to meet existing deadlines and delivering prompt responses to questions and concerns.
Please note that due to the rate at which the current COVID-19 situation is changing, and the response by government to feedback on its initiatives, the information contained in this update is accurate as of the release date indicated above. Clients can monitor updates to the Department of Finance announcements at the following link: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news.html
Further information on the redesigned CEWS can be found at the following link:
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news.html
