Covid-19 / Coronavirus Business support details all in one place #INITTOGETHER
There is a lot of information in different forums and groups and everyone has their take on it. There is also a lot of confusion about what is best for your business and how you go about applying for certain help and relief. We all feel like a rabbit caught in headlights and this is understandable.
Hang tight as help is coming so breathe, read as much as you can and then make a list of the websites that you can apply for help through, jot down any important numbers that you need and then put a plan in place for your business. You must pull in the best assistance that suits your particular business. We know it is overwhelming as all of us small businesses are going through the same so keep focussed and make the changes needed to keep your business afloat and your employee’s safe. Things change hourly so you have got to be responsive and reactive.
Change, adaptation, commitment and strength are needed.
- On the Government link below, you have access to everything that is being implemented for your business and staff right now. You can access information from the Job Retention Scheme, the deferral of VAT and Income payments, business rates holiday, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), support from the Bank of England, grant funding for hospitality and the time to pay scheme and how your insurance policies can cover you…. and much much more.
CORONAVIRUS JOB RETENTION SCHEME
For those that have staff that they need to keep covered with a salary, to save staff from being ‘laid off, our Government are providing 80% salary costs to you as a business (at a £2500 cap p/m and you are not liable to pay the remaining 20%). You are to switch your workers employment status to ‘Furlough’ so contracts can be amended to these terms for a minimum of 3 months (note in there that this can change going forward because of this disaster which was out of your control). Your staff can at least keep a salary if they have been ‘temporarily stood down’. You must be aware of Employment Laws so please be thorough with these changes, and it is advised that your Employee confirms in writing their agreement to these amendments. Seek advice if you are unsure and remember your Employee can still accrue their usual rights such as holiday entitlement etc.
The Government Portal will hopefully be launching asap so you will have to hang tight at the moment but when it is live, access this tool and enter your employee’s details and basic gross salary – no bonuses or overtime etc have to be included in this sum. You are still eligible for their National Insurance and Tax so please take this into account with your outgoing costs still. The payments will be made directly to your business but bare in mind there is a probable timescale of April/May before payments start to creep through.
If your employee’s income drops below the threshold for families, then please point them to https://www.gov.uk/apply-universal-credit to see if they are eligible for any extra help and support at home. Be advised there are a lot of people accessing this tool right now so the waiting time is quite high so keep calm if you can. This is all new territory to most of us so remember to be patient (yes it is very very hard right now). Use the link below for more information:
CORONAVIRUS BUSINESS INTERRUPTION LOAN SCHEME (CBILS)
Whilst it is very stressful waiting for the Government to have the portal up and running, to get cash flow in to your business and a back-up plan, apply NOW through The British Bank for the help on offer right now: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme-cbils/
They can provide vital finance facilities to include a loan, overdraft, invoice finance and much more. The lenders that have entered in to this scheme range from Bank of Scotland, ABN AMRO, Barclays, HSBC, Natwest, Lloyds, Art Business Loans, Bank of Ireland, Metro Bank and many many more. For the full list see here: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme-cbils/accredited-lenders/
You have to have a viable lending plan but the terms are more favourable as lenders have agreed to zero arrangement fees and no early repayment penalties for SME’s. The Government will act as your security and guarantee your loan but please note that you will always be 100% responsible for the full debt owed. The Government will provide the ‘Business Interuption Payment’ so smaller businesses have no upfront costs to pay and have lower repayments for the first 12 months.
There is eligibility criteria of course; your business has to be under the £45 million turnover (please check the full criteria details), but if you do meet the criteria and have a viable case, then you can find it assuring that the repayments are 12 months interest free. The repayments for the loan are up to 6 year terms and up to 3 years for the overdraft facilities. See details here:
RETAIL, HOSPITALITY & LEISURE SUPPORT & NURSERIES WITH THEIR BUSINESS RATES
There is no denying the catastrophic consequence this disaster has had on our bars, restaurants, hotels, venues and leisure centres. Not to mention the huge outdoor festivals and events then subsequently cancelled but this was unavoidable in order to do the best to halt the Coronavirus. There will now be a business rates holiday for the next tax year of 2020/2021 – there is no action for you to take as this will be processed automatically by the relevant authorities.
This also includes Nurseries suffering the effects of children being kept at home, and workers now working from home so there are more details here. Again, the relevant authorities will apply the relief automatically for you on your next bill and there is more information here:
A handy calculator to work this all out is: https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-business-rates
DEFERRING OF VAT AND INCOME TAX PAYMENTS
Some extra relief here is the deferral of VAT payments and Income Tax payments. There is no application process as it is applied automatically so just cancel any direct debits you normally pay for VAT. If you are self-employed then the Income Tax that is due on 31st July is now deferred until January 2021.
There are no late payment fee’s or interest rates applied during this referral period. For more information see here:
TIME TO PAY SERVICE
If you were already in financial difficulty with your tax arrears, and will now worry about missing even more tax payments due to the COVID-19 impact, then you can set up a payment plan (if eligible) going forward to ease the pressure as times are stressful enough. There is more information below but in the meantime please call the Governments dedicated helpline number 0800 0159 559.
INSURANCE POLICIES
For various insurance purposes, some policies will protect you with regards to ‘forced Government closures’ and some also include notifiable diseases that you are protected against. In this case, COVID-19 has now officially been entered in the list provided to insurers.
For more help and information regarding your insurance, see here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses#commercial-insurance
SUPPORT FOR YOUR HOME LIFE
There are so many different articles, links, new processes and applications it is understandable to be very overwhelmed and confused when you are not only trying to save and protect your business and staff but also if you have a family to look after on top of that.
Remember to apply for any extra help and financial support that your family are entitled to (such as Universal Credits and help from your Local Housing Authority) and to speak with your bank if your mortgage will now be in jeopardy because of the financial impact COVID-19 has had on your business earnings. A fantastic site for further information regarding mortgages and payment holidays is www.finder.com so head to this link for some more advice: https://www.finder.com/uk/coronavirus-mortgage-holiday-guide
We know this is quite a hefty document here and overloaded with links but we really hope it helps. Print it off and jot down notes and numbers and points that are helpful to your business and get organised.
We’re all in this together and things are changing at a rapid rate so we must act fast here. And more importantly, stick together to show support, kindness and determination. These are scary times but we will get through this. We can and we will.
#INITTOGETHER #UNITE2020 #STRENGTH #DETERMINATION #GRIT #SPIRIT
(Image rights to Ron Smith via Unsplash).
