Coronavirus: Ministry of Social Development releases wage subsidy search tool

The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has released a new tool where the public can search for companies that have received payments under the Government's COVID-19 wage subsidy scheme.

The website allows people to search for their employer or any company in New Zealand, and from there the number of employees who have been paid and the total amount the company has received from the scheme can be seen. To search the website, all you need is the trading or company name of a business.

"Publishing this information makes sure that payments under the scheme are transparent and that the scheme is accountable to the public," MSD says on their website.

If people can't find their employer, their application might not have been processed yet or the company hasn't applied.

If you see that your employer has received the subsidy but you haven't received payment or don't think you've been paid enough, then MSD recommends talking to your boss.

There is an online form people can complete to see if they were included in their employer's application, and MSD can then confirm if someone was listed as an 'affected employee'.

If you've talked to your employer and you can't resolve your problem or you think your employer has acted fraudulently with the subsidy, you can make a complaint with Employment New Zealand