Those in the hospitality sector say the lack of Government support and assurance is 'unacceptable' in third year of pandemic. Photo / 123RF
Restaurateurs in Auckland have slammed the Government on their self-isolation rules for close contacts and say the lack of financial support means the industry is slowly being "bled dry".
"The self-isolation rule is a big problem at the moment because if one of my staff gets sick, I'll have to shut down all three of my business, and that's something we can't afford," said restaurant owner Ofir Yudilevich.
Yudilevich owns The Jefferson (bar and restaurant) and two Billypot cafes in Auckland city, and his nine staff work across the three locations.
"My plan at the moment is if anyone gets Covid-19, I'll close my business for three months. We can't open and close frequently, because that'll cost me more money.
"The real issue is that we don't have confidence that we can continue our business, on the current isolation rules.
"We can't shut down the whole business just because one person has the sniffles," he said.
He told the Herald that isolating a staff member who isn't well was reasonable but having to isolate all of his staff for being close contacts wasn't something that the business could sustain.
As per the Government-outlined self-isolation rules, a person should self-isolate if they are identified as close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.
The person will have to isolate for at least 10 days if they test positive for Covid-19.
If living with a person who has Covid-19 or who has tested positive for it, then you will need to immediately self-isolate for 10 days from the day the positive case gets their test result.
You will need to get tested on day three and day eight of your self-isolation period.
You can end your self-isolation on the same day as the first person with Covid-19 in the household, provided you have no new or worsening symptoms and your tests are negative. If tests are positive, you need to continue to self-isolate for another 10 days.
You need to self-isolate from others for seven days from your last contact with the person who was positive for Covid-19.
This long period of self-isolation for Yudilevich's nine staff would mean he would have to close his business for 90 days in total.
Yudilevich said he has incurred more than $20,000 in debt since the 2021 August lockdown.
The wage subsidy doesn't take into account the 8 per cent holiday pay and the KiwiSaver which he had been paying for 25 of his staff members.
He told the Herald because he couldn't give enough hours to his staff most of them had to leave, and now he only has the remaining nine.
The Government has said they have given billions of dollars to the business sector but they fail to take into account the money they've taken back in taxes, he said.
"If we were to go on a lockdown, I'm not going to apply for another subsidy, I'm going to let my staff go," he said
Per staff member who works between 35 and 45 hours, with an average pay of $24 per hour getting about "$600 after tax per staff would be okay".
"And we need to know exactly how long that subsidy is going to be for because at the moment we don't have future certainty."
RNZ reported Finance Minister Grant Robertson said it was a work in progress.
"Overall economic activity is only down 2 to 5 per cent but within food and beverage it's much more significant than that, so we're working through how we could provide targeted support to that sector and we will have more to say about that in the near future."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told media at this week's post-Cabinet briefing that the finance minister was constantly reviewing the situation.
"He is working on measures that are highly targeted, one-off, and short-term to address those issues where the Covid protection framework is having an impact on those businesses, and we'll have more to say on that very shortly."
Leo Molloy, owner of Headquarters at Auckland's Viaduct Basin, said an extension of the wage subsidy scheme was needed and it had to be done on a case-by-case basis.
"God forbid, it's going to happen but I am dreading the day one of my 71 staff at HQ comes to me with sniffles or a cough. I'm going to be in big trouble.
"I'll have to close the place for a week or two while it's sorted out," Molloy said.
"One size doesn't fit all," he said.
It has to be targeted on the basis of the number of employees or on the size of the venue, he said.
And rapid antigen tests need to be readily available, he said.
Molloy is winding up his Viaduct bar Headquarters to focus on his mayoral campaign.
He told the Herald the bar's lease expires in May and with uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he saw this as "a good time" to wind things up.
Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois said the industry is being "bled dry" with a lack of government funding and people's anxiety around the Omicron variant.
"Hospitality businesses are slowly being bled dry and there seems to be no compassion from our Government to their situation.
"The messaging around Omicron is making people stay away. On top of that, trading restrictions and the never-ending fear of closures and staff shortages. These businesses have no reserves and yet the funding has stopped," she said.
"We urgently need the Government to reinstate the wage subsidy while at the red level and deliver some targeted support to our industry.
"We are also seeking the ability to be able to test to return to work to avoid the inevitable closures which will come about as a result of having positive cases in our workplaces," Bidois said.
Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck slams delays with targeted financial support, with the latest city centre GDP results the worst in over two decades.
She said the delay with sustainable financial support is inexcusable as this situation was anticipated.
Heart of the City's latest spending results showed the severity of the ongoing impact to hundreds of city centre businesses, with the December quarter declining 51 per cent versus the same time in 2020, equating to $200 million in lost spending in just three months.
This figure increased to $350m if we add in the lockdown from August 18, Beck said.
The city centre has also experienced its worst GDP in over two decades with 2021 GDP results showing a 4.6 per cent decline.
It was only a 0.9 per cent result during the GFC.
Beck said: "We're aghast that after asking Treasury last September to reassess a scheme to provide sustainable financial support that would put more money in the hands of those who need it with less debt for the Government, and the Minister of Finance telling us in November it was being considered, there is nothing on offer at a time when businesses need it most," she said.
"Targeted financial support is the only option unless there is a significant change in the approach to the Covid-19 response - such as changing the isolation rules, making RAT testing available for all businesses, getting people safely back to the office, bringing a managed border opening forward.
"The end of the month is looming and rent payments are due, and we are hearing of closures daily. It's unacceptable that it's taken so long and so much heartache to get nothing tangible on the table to give people hope for their survival as we enter the third year of significant covid impacts."
The Restaurant Association last week said businesses were reporting a 30 per cent decrease in year-on-year revenues according to the latest figures.
"This is on top of a 30 per cent revenue reduction year on year in 2021, so a decline of 60 per cent against pre-pandemic figures.
"Whilst the red light setting is still a green light for diners, sadly the government modelling and current messaging is having the adverse effect on patronage," Bidois said.
55 per cent of those surveyed had experienced increased cancellations; 88 per cent a downturn in customer patronage, and 74 per cent had noticed increased customer hesitancy to dine out.
59 per cent of respondents said that business on Auckland Anniversary weekend was either slow or extremely slow.
"Now we are in the traffic light system, there is no further financial support offered to businesses so we really need people to understand that dining out is safe.
"The message from the industry is clear. Continue to dine out," Bidois said.
The Government has committed funding to the sector in an effort to support future plans.