Covid-19

Your emotional and mental health is important. It is okay to feel stressed or lonely when self-isolating, but there are some things you can do to feel better. Reach out to your usual support, like family, whānau and friends and talk about how you feel. Try sticking to a routine such as having regular mealtimes, bedtimes and exercising if possible. If you feel that you need to speak with a health professional for support with anxiety, distress or mental wellbeing, you can call or text 1737 – free, anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to talk with a trained counsellor.

At the very least, the legal minimum wage if they are a contractor. If they are a support worker, then the pay equity rates apply. As long as the rate is over those two minimums, then it’s up to the employer what they would like to pay. Keep in mind, the rate should mirror what is paid to the person who usually provides the support to ensure that costs remain with the IF holders budget.

Yes. Individualised Funding can still be used to pay family who live in the same house if your support worker is unavailable or you are unable to have them back.
Please note Respite funding can only be used if it is giving the main carer a break.
If you are the Agent, you will need to be set up as a contractor during COVID-19. The hours worked will need to be claimed back as an expense under ‘Contract Care’ and ensure these earnings are declared to IRD. Manawanui can do this on your behalf if you choose. This is called Schedular Contractor, and you will need to set yourself up with our payroll service to choose this option. It will cost the same as our normal payroll service which is $15 per fortnight. In this instance, the agent should only cover the usual allocated hours of work per week.

If your usual allocated weekly hours of work are over 40 hours, each paid family member cannot exceed a 40 hour per week maximum. If a non-agent parent or family member is to cover support hours during COVID-19, they can be an employee or contractor.
Please note that if they are an employee, Manawanui will file PAYE.

If they choose to be a contractor, they will need to declare any earnings to IRD, or be set up with Manawanui as a Schedular contractor (see above). A non-agent parent or family member should only cover the usual allocated hours per week of support required. If your usual allocated weekly hours of work are over 40 hours, each paid family member cannot exceed a 40 hour per week maximum.

This guidance is no longer active while we are not in lockdown or any covid restrictions settings. Technology purchases need to to fit within the Purchasing Guidelines of your funding.

If you are looking to purchase a tech item during the lockdown, these items need to be ‘fair and reasonable” according to the MOH guidelines and must fit within your budget allocation. You should consider the cost of what you need and how long you will need it for COVID-19 related spends only. If the item is for educational purposes, you will need to contact the school first to see what they can provide or be borrowed, as per the educational funding guidelines. Please call our Customer Experience Centre if you are unsure or need to talk through a tech purchase. 0508 462 427 cec@manawanui.org.nz Please note the standard purchasing guidelines apply for technology – i.e. up to $1,200 for hardware. visit

They will then need to use their annual leave or leave without pay. If they are not coming in because they are sick, they can use sick leave.
If the leave is COVID related they can use the COVID-19 Leave Scheme. See here for details on the Work and Income website

Provided adequate health and safety measures are in place at both workplaces such as PPE, your support worker will be fine to work with you.
However, we recognise that for immunosuppressed people this creates added risk and worry.
If your support worker would prefer not to work with you, they can take leave without pay or annual leave.
If you would prefer your support worker not to work, you need to discuss this with them in good faith.
You must either continue paying them, agree with them that they are happy to take leave, or terminate their employment. All of these options require discussion with your employee and we recommend you contact the EMA for further support.
The free advice line for Manawanui customers is 0800 300 362.
You can visit their website also here https://www.ema.co.nz/

This is a personal decision. You should consider your safety as well as the safety of your support workers.
If you are uncomfortable with having your support workers in your bubble, you will need to have a conversation with them about the long-term plans.
If you have the budget, you can continue to pay them, or apply for the wage subsidy through MSD and continue to pay them using this method. If this is the case, you will need to explore options with your support workers. This may include agreeing to changes in hours or days worked within your allocated support hours.

You must comply with the employment agreements you have in place, and provide any relevant notice period, prior to making the change. If you think you need to alter your staff’s agreements, you can look at the guidance here 
If you want to continue to have a smaller number of support workers, then you must go through a proper employment process with your support workers.
You can find out more about terminating an employment agreement here www.employment.govt.nz/ending-employment/

You are able to include staff in your bubble if you are safe to do so.
Have conversations with your support workers about what you want your supports to look like.
Continue to ensure good hygiene practices are used, including frequent hand washing. They must wash and dry their hands thoroughly and cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue or their elbow. They should also not visit you if they, or you, are unwell, or have been in contact with someone who is unwell or has COVID symptoms.
If you absolutely need support, you must ensure your staff use a full PPE kit for any support when entering the home.

It is important to maintain 1 metre distance between you and your support staff and to use good hygiene and infection control practices.
If you are having personal care, support staff will need to wear the appropriate PPE.
Refer to this Ministry of Health guide for your situation.
 

Yes, support workers are considered essential workers. This means your support workers can still work even if it means supporting you to access groceries or medical support. In Level 4, you should be considering how you want your support to look, you may want to consider if claiming the wage subsidy for your staff is appropriate while you pay family to cover your support needs.
 

You should contact your employer and stay at home. You should do the same at any alert level. You should call your doctor if you are feeling unwell with any COVID-19 symptoms.
Your doctor will talk with you and arrange for you to be tested if they think this is needed. COVID-19 symptoms are:
• fever – this is when you feel really hot and have a temperature of 38 degrees or more
• a cough that is new or one that has been getting worse over a few days
• shortness of breath or finding it hard to breathe
• sore throat
• sneezing and runny nose
• temporary loss of smell.

You can find more information here
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-novel-coronavirus-health-advice-general-public

Yes, there is no stand-down leave support for Employers. If you need to stay home for health and safety reasons, there are some leave options available through MSD. You will need to talk to your Employer about what option is best for your situation.
 

The Ministry of Health website has the most up to date information
COVID-19: Information for disabled people and their family and whānau 

The Ministry of Health website has the most up to date information. Click here

At all levels of the framework it is considered safe for most people to include support staff who live outside the home. This means the leave support from the Ministry of Health is not available anymore. If you believe there is a reason you don’t feel safe to have your staff return as normal, you will need to talk to them about what the best option is for both parties.