New Lockdown Grants to Support Businesses

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of the new national lockdown, Rishi Sunak has today announced that businesses forced to close in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector shall receive one-off top up grants.
 
These grants will be paid on a per property basis at the following rates:

• £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of up to £15,000
• £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
• £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000

 
A further £594 million is being made available to Local Authorities to support businesses that are affected by the new restrictions but are not eligible for the above grants.  Applications for grants should be made to your relevant Local Authority.
 
Self Employed Income Support Scheme (“SEISS”)
 
The deadline for claiming the third round of the SEISS grant closes on 29 January 2021.

To make a claim for the third grant, businesses must have had a new or continuing impact from coronavirus between 1 November 2020 and 29 January 2021 which you believe will result in a significant reduction in your profits between these dates. 

Your business may not have been affected from 1 November to date, but with the new national lockdown now in place this may change and you should consider whether you are entitled to the grant.  The grant is worth 80% of your average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, and capped at £7,500 in total. 
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The grant is claimed through your Government Gateway account and must be made before 29 January 2021.  If you need help in accessing your account then please contact us

Other Continuing Support

As a reminder, the Government are continuing to pay up to 80% of employee wages for hours not work under the Furlough Scheme until 30 April 2021 and access to the various Coronavirus Loan Schemes remains open until 31 March 2021.
 
We are here to help, so if you have any queries or wish to discuss the above then please contact us

Coronavirus Job Support Scheme
The Government has today announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will now be extended from 31 March until 30 April 2021. The criteria for the extended scheme remain the same with the Government continuing to pay up to 80% of hours not worked up to the cap of £2,500 per month.

Updated guidance on paying deferred VAT
The Government have updated their guidance on paying any VAT that was deferred during the period from 20 March to 30 June 2020. The deferred VAT was originally payable by March 2021 but following more recent announcements this has now been extended, interest free, to March 2022.
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To take advantage of the new payment scheme businesses need to opt in by the end of March 2021 through their Government Gateway account and more information on this can be found here.

Coronavirus Loan Schemes
Access to the Coronavirus Loan Schemes (Bounce Back Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Coronavirus Large Business Loan Interruption Loan Scheme) have been extended from 31 January until to 31 March 2021.

2021 Budget Speech
The Budget speech has been confirmed to take place on 3 March 2021.
 
We are here to help, so if you any queries or wish to discuss the above then please contact us.

There has been a lot of talk in recent weeks regarding the upcoming Christmas break and the interaction with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (‘CJRS’) with some employers planning to place their employees on furlough while they are on holiday over the Christmas period.
 
The purpose of the extended CJRS is to provide financial support to employers who have been forced to close their businesses or faced a downturn in the volume of work available for their employees due to the resurgence of coronavirus.  The guidance is clear that employees should not be placed on furlough for a period simply because they are on holiday for that period.
 
Employees who are genuinely furloughed due to their employment activities being adversely affected by the pandemic or the measures taken to restrict further transmission can take holiday during their period of furlough without affecting the CJRS grant available.  This holiday can be taken at the request of the employee or, provided the appropriate notice is given, at the employer’s request.  Employees should be paid at their normal rate for any period of holiday with the claim for the CJRS grant being restricted to the grant amounts, currently 80% of their usual pay.
 
Some practical examples:                                              

• An employee has been on furlough throughout November and December due to there being no work available.  The employee has already booked holiday over the Christmas period.  As the holiday is within a much longer furlough period a CJRS grant claim can be made for the period of holiday with the employer funding the top up to 100% of normal pay.

 

• A business has historically opened its offices over the Christmas period (except for Bank Holidays) for staff to attend work.  Due to the coronavirus pandemic there is less work available for employees and therefore the employer decides to give employees notice that the office will close for two full weeks over Christmas and they are required to take holiday.  As long as there is clear evidence that the closure is caused by the coronavirus pandemic directly leading to a reduction in the need for the activities of the employees, then the employer will be able to furlough the staff for this period and claim a grant under CJRS.

 

• A factory has shut down its operations over Christmas for the last five years with employees taking the time off out of their annual holiday entitlement.  As this is an annual occurrence it is likely to be viewed by HMRC as standard practice and therefore not as a result of the current coronavirus pandemic.  A CJRS grant claim should therefore not be made in these circumstances.

 

• A business has plenty of work available and an employee asks for a week off over Christmas, the request is granted and the employer wishes to furlough the employee for the period of holiday.  As the employee is being placed on furlough purely because they are taking holiday then a CJRS grant claim should not be made.

 
Employers deciding to place employees on furlough over Christmas should therefore proceed with care, taking into account the guidance available.  The CJRS Treasury Direction includes a clause that states no CJRS claim may be made in respect of an employee if it is abusive or is otherwise contrary to the exceptional purposes of CJRS.  HMRC has said that it will be checking claims and challenging employers on their reasons for placing employees on furlough to ensure the claim is valid.
 
Finally, employers should also be aware that HMRC have announced that they will be publishing details of CJRS claims made for periods from 1 December 2020.  This will include the employers’ name and Companies House reference (where relevant) together with the value of the claim within set bands which can be found here. Employees will also be able to see on their Personal Tax Account whether a claim has been made for them by their employer.
 
We are here to help, so if you any queries or wish to discuss the above then please contact us.

The Chancellor today announced further changes to the Winter support measures as follows:

• The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been further extended to 31 March 2021. The Government will pay 80% of employee wages up to a cap of £2,500 per month for the hours not worked. A review of the level of the Government contribution will be undertaken in January.  Anyone made redundant after 23 September 2020 can now be rehired and placed back on furlough.

 

• The third Self-Employed Income Support Scheme grant has been further increased. The grant covering November, December and January was originally set to pay 40% of historic profits. This was increased last week to 55% and has today been increased to 80% up to a cap of £7,500.

 

• The Job Retention Bonus Scheme which would have seen employers receive £1,000 for every job retained until 31 January 2021 has now fallen away following the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. A replacement scheme will be considered by the Government at the appropriate time.

We are here to help, so if you have any queries or wish to discuss any of the above then please contact us

The Government have today announced a doubling of the third Self Employed Income Support Scheme (“SEISS”) grant from 40% to 80% of the average trading profits for November to match the level of support provided under the Coronavirus Job Support Scheme for the employed. 

The SEISS grant will remain in place for December and January at the previously announced rate of 40% of the average trading profits. The grant for the three months will therefore provide 55% of the average trading profits to the self-employed.  The grant for the three months will be capped at £5,160.

The opening of the claims portal has been brought forward to 30 November. Claims will be made through the Government Gateway accounts in the same manner as the first two grants. 

For more detail on the eligibility criteria please click here for our previous article.
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Mortgage payment holidays will no longer end on 31 October 2020. 

Borrowers who have been impacted by the coronavirus restrictions can apply for extended payment holidays.  For individuals who have not yet had a mortgage payment holiday they will be entitled to a six-month holiday starting in November 2020.
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For individuals who have already started a mortgage payment holiday they will be entitled to increase the current arrangement to up to six months without this being recorded on their credit file.
 
Further information is expected from the FCA next week.
 
We are here to help so if you wish to discuss any aspects of the above then please contact us.

Business premises that are forced to close in England can receive grants up to £3,000 per month under the Local Restrictions Support Grant.  The grants available will be as follows:
 

• For properties with a rateable value up to £15,000 the available grants will be £1,334 per month or £667 for two weeks.
• For properties with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 the available grants will be £2,000 per month or £1,000 for two weeks;
• For properties with a rateable value over £51,000 the available grants will be £3,000 per month or £1,500 for two weeks.

 
Claims under the Local Restrictions Support Scheme can be made through local council and further advice can be found on the local council website.
 
We are here to help so if you wish to discuss any aspects of the above then please contact us.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”) has been extended until the end of November 2020 in line with the new national restrictions with the replacement Job Support Scheme also being delayed. 
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The level of the CJRS grant will be the same as that available in August with the Government paying 80% of employee wages up to a cap of £2,500 for employee hours not worked.  Employers will pay the associated employer national insurance and pension contributions. 
 
Full and flexible furloughing will continue to be available and employers will continue to have the option to top up employee wages at their own cost should they wish to do so.
 
As with the previous CJRS, employers can claim the grant for the hours their employees do not work calculated by reference to their usual hours worked in a claim period. The calculations for this will broadly follow the same methodology as currently under the CJRS.
 
To be eligible for the extended CJRS, employees must be on the payroll by 30 October 2020.  Neither the employer nor the employee needs to have previously used the CJRS.
 
Employers will be able to agree working arrangements with employees and employers should consider the related HR matters and ensure terms are agreed with employees in writing.
 
The Government will confirm shortly when claims under the extended CJRS can be made in respect of employee wage costs during November.  It is expected that the extended scheme will allow businesses to be paid upfront to cover wages costs.
 
We are here to help so if you wish to discuss any aspects of the above then please contact us.

​The Government’s Job Support Scheme (JSS) will open on 1‌‌‌ ‌November and run until 30‌‌‌ ‌April 2021 with a review of the terms of the scheme in January 2021.  Due to many areas now being subject to additional social restrictions the Government have introduced a variation of the JSS now splitting into “JSS Open” and “JSS Closed”. 

The JSS Open will provide financial support to businesses that are open but where employees are working reduced hours because of coronavirus.  Employees will need to work at least 20% of their usual hours (reduced from the 33% previously announced) and will be paid for the hours they work. 

The Government will contribute 61.67% of the usual pay for hours not worked capped at £1,541.75 per month.  Employers will have to pay 5% of the usual pay for hours not worked capped at £125 per month.  Employees should therefore receive at least two thirds of their usual pay for hours not worked.  Employers can top up employees pay if they choose to do so.
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The table below shows the revised support that will be available under the JSS Open assuming that the contribution cap is not breached:

​The JSS Closed will provide financial support to businesses who are legally required to close as a direct result of coronavirus restrictions imposed by one of the UK Governments. This includes businesses restricted to delivery or collection-only services from their premises and those that are restricted to providing outdoor services only.

The Government will contribute 66.67% of the usual pay for hours not worked capped at £2,083.33 per month. Employers will not be required to contribute towards employees hours not worked.  Employers can top up employees pay if they choose to do so.
Under both the JSS Open and JSS Closed employers will be responsible for all employer National Insurance and Pension contributions.

Claims for support will be made in arrears commencing from 8‌‌‌ ‌December 2020 for November pay periods. Further guidance on how to claim will be issued nearer the time.

Under both JSS Open and JSS Closed you will need to ensure you also consider HR matters, with the terms being agreed with your employees in writing.

We are here to help so if you wish to discuss any aspects of the JSS then please contact us

The Government have today announced further increased support for businesses and workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic. A summary of these are as follows:
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Job Support Scheme (JSS)
The JSS has been further extended for open businesses. The Government will now provide up to 61.67% of wages for hours not worked up to a cap of £1,541.75 per month (previously 33% capped at £697.92). The employer contribution to the unworked hours of employees will reduce from 33% to 5% with employees now only needing to work a minimum of 20% of their normal hours in order to qualify.
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Business Grants
Cash grants of up to £2,100 per month will be available for businesses facing Tier 2 restrictions where the business is not legally closed. Grants will primarily be targeted at the hospitality, accommodation and leisure sector with retrospective grants being available for businesses in areas where Tier 2 restrictions have already been applied.
The available grants will be:

• For properties with a rateable value up to £15,000 will receive up to £934 per month
• For properties with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 will receive up to  £1,400 per month
• For properties with a rateable value over £51,000 will receive up to £2,100 per month.

 
Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS)
The SEISS support will be doubled from 20% to 40% of the average monthly trading profits with new cap of £3,750. The qualifying criteria remains unchanged and can be found here