Covid-19: Immediate Guidance, Challenges & Support Available

Available to any employer in the country – for employees who are not working and would otherwise be laid off, the Government grant covers 80% of that employee’s salary, up to a maximum amount of £2,500 per month, from 1 March. The scheme will close to new entrants from 30 June meaning the final date an employer can furlough an employee for the first time will be 10 June.

The scheme will operate until the end of October 2020, but employers will need to start ‘sharing’ the cost of the scheme from 1 August 2020, as follows – 1^st August: government will pay 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500, but employers will start to pay national insurance and pension contributions; 1^st September: government will pay 70% of wages up to a cap of £2,190, with employers paying 10% of wages as well as contributions; and 1^st October: government will pay 60% of wages up to a cap of £1,875, with employers paying 20% of wages plus contributions.

From 1 July 2020 the minimum furlough period has been reduced from 3 weeks to 1 week, and furloughed employees can return to work part-time (for any amount of time and on any shift pattern) – employers can claim JRS for the remaining normal hours not being worked.

Read more: Job Retention Scheme – What employers need to know

For employers with less than 250 employees (as at 28 February 2020) – the Government will reimburse up to 2 weeks’ statutory sick pay for each employee absent due to self-isolation or Coronavirus from 13 March 2020. Claims will be made via an online service run by HMRC in a similar way to the Job Retention Scheme – the website isn’t yet available.

Applicable to all occupied properties used as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas, live music venues, for assembly and leisure, as hotels, guests, boarding premises and self-catering and nursery businesses (Early Years Foundation Stage). The relief is available from 1 April 2020 for 12 months.

One-off grants of £25,000 to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with premises with a rateable value of £15,000 – £51,000 as at 11 March 2020.

One-off grant of £10,000 per property for to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses where premises have a rateable value of less than £15,000 and any business eligible for small business rate relief, or rural rate relief, as at 11 March 2020.

Contact your Local Authority for more information on how to access these grants.

A fisheries support scheme to help cover fixed business costs for up to 3 months has also been made available for under-24 metre vessel owners with fishing licences who recorded sales of £10,000 or more in 2019. The Marine Management Organisation are contacting eligible owners directly.

Direct cash grant of 80% of profits up to a maximum amount of £2,500 per month for 3 months – available for the self-employed whose annual trading profits are less than £50,000. Claims will be made via an online service run by HMRC which is now available here

Payments should be made within 6 working days. The Government have also prepared a helpful video which runs through the claim process step-by-step, available here. They contactied eligible people during May and are making payments in early June.

An extension to the scheme was announced on 29 May – people can apply for a second and final grant in August for 70% of a further 3 months of average monthly trading profits, paid in a single instalment and capped at £6,570 in total.

The minimum income floor for those impacted by Coronavirus has been suspended, so self-employed can access universal credit at a rate equivalent to statutory sick pay for employees.

UK VAT registered businesses with VAT payments due between 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 can defer the payment to a later date on or before 31 March 2021. You don’t need to notify HMRC but make sure direct debits are cancelled and your VAT returns are still filed with HMRC on time.

Businesses in financial distress can speak to HMRC about negotiating extended and period payment terms for any existing HMRC debt. Their dedicated helpline is open 8am – 4pm, Monday-Friday – 0800 0159 559).

Self-assessment income tax payments are deferred until January 2021.

Companies can apply for an automatic 3-month extension to file their accounts with Companies House if they are struggling to meet the normal filing deadline due to the Coronavirus.

Government-backed (100%) loans of between £2,000 and £50,000 for SMEs.

Note that the Government have stated that any existing CBILS lending (up to £50,000) should be transferable to a Bounce Back Loan product if the other eligibility requirements are met.

Government-backed (80%) loans of up to £5m for businesses with a turnover of up to £45m.

Government-backed (80%) loans of up to:

• £25m for businesses with a turnover of between £45m and £250m
• £50m for businesses with a turnover of over £250m – this upper limit is increasing to £200m (or 25% of turnover) on 26^th May, when further details will be provided. Companies receiving help of over £50m on terms of more than 12 months will also need to agree to certain restrictions including not paying dividends and constraints on senior management pay.

CLBILS limit extended

Large businesses who make a material contribution to the UK’s economic activity and with a minimum short-term credit rating of A-3 / P-3 / F-3 from at least one of Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch as at 1 March 2020 can apply to sell short term debt to the Bank of England.

Convertible Government loan from £125k to £5m for businesses who can obtain at least equal match funding from other private investors and who have previously raised at least £250,000 from private investors in the last 5 years.

Further details can be found here – applications can be made from Wednesday 20^th May, on a first-come first-served basis

Landlords will not be entitled to exercise rights of forfeiture or re-entry until after 30 June 2020 where they would otherwise be entitled to do so due to non-payment of rent (note there is a right for the Government to extend this period).

Homeowners can access a 3 month mortgage repayment holiday (note that interest is likely to continue accruing). Contact your Bank directly for more information on this.

Eligible renters can access the Local Housing Allowance which has been increased to cover 30% of market rents.