The Market Information team is pleased to announce the publication of the New Zealand Pandemic Business Response Pulse Survey 3 Results which outline how businesses are coping with the Covid-19 situation and what actions they are taking within their business in relation to staffing levels and redundancies.
The key support being offered by organisations that are considering or proceeding with redundancies is Well-being and Mental Health support, followed by around a third of organisations providing outplacement support and extended notice beyond the minimum requirement. While some organisations will also aim to provide financial planning support, this was not a main consideration.
Strategic Pay Chief Executive Officer, John McGill, says that this information is particularly important for businesses at this uncertain time to support decision making and understand broader market practice.
For over 20% of private sector respondents the die is cast in terms of redundancies with the remainder able to bide their time a little longer. Again, the speed of decision making after three weeks of lockdown is very clear as adjustments are made to the current situation their organisations are in. As with our earlier two surveys the speed of response of the private sector is more noticeable despite both the public and private sectors having similar numbers of employees out of work. We note the Public Sector remains more insulated from the immediate effects of the outbreak at present and, not surprisingly, few are taking up the offer of wage subsidies (many of the survey respondents are of course outside the size eligibility range).
Some key findings include:
- Overall 58% of respondents have staff unable to work due to the Pandemic, particularly in the Public Sector
- In the Private sector 61% of organisations have staff unable to work
- In the Not for Profit sector 42% of organisations have staff unable to work
- 78% of responding organisations are continuing to pay staff unable to work the same as before
- 20% of organisations are paying staff unable to work 80% of normal pay
- Overall 81% of responding organisations are either not considering redundancies or are unsure
- 34% of responding organisations have stated their decisions around redundancies will not be affected by the length of the lockdown
- 61% of responding organisations will assess closer to the date
- 47% of organisations need to reduce costs immediately or as soon as possible
- 60% of organisations will reduce staffing levels up to 10%
To find out more, download an overview HERE, or contact us.
