Links to Government Information

The government is bringing in new legislation to help businesses and individuals through the current crisis.

This page relates to financial matters, the government and NHS websites explain matters relating to health and restricting the spread of the disease.

This page will be updated with links as they become available.

My blog post https://www.amandalodgeandco.co.uk/covid-19-planning-for-a-marathon includes some practical financial planning you can undertake to help save your business.
Remember to re-check these links regularly.  The government keep updating them as things change.
WARNING - HMRC are warning of an increase in scam emails, calls and texts connected with the pandemic.
They are saying that: "If someone gets in touch claiming to be from HMRC, saying that financial help can be claimed or that a tax refund is owed, and asks you to click on a link or to give information such as your name, credit card or bank details, please do not respond. " You will never be contacted out of the blue by HMRC and asked for such information.
 Budget 2021 – Covid Support

The government has extended its help for businesses and is updating its web pages linked in various posts below.

Highlights include:

Furlough is being extended to September 2021 with increasing contributions from the employer starting from July 2021, similar to the rules at the end of last summer.

Self Employed Income Support is being extended and will be available to those who started a business in 2019/20. There are clearer rules about how affected your business has been and what you can claim.  

Rates relief will continue to some extent for qualifying businesses. There will be three months where no rates are charged and the following six that will be charged at 1/3 of the normal level. Alongside this there are further “restart” grants available to businesses, the size of which depends upon when the business can re-open under the planned lockdown easing. Keep an eye on your local authority website to see if you are eligible and make a claim.

A new loan scheme is also being introduced, the “recovery loan scheme”. You still have until the end of March to apply for either of the existing loans, so you will need to act soon if you intend to do this. There are not many details about the new loan as yet, but banks will be able to take some form of security for the loans.

The reduced rate of VAT for holiday accommodation, hospitality, and attractions at 5% will continue until the end of September, it will then rise to 12.5% until March 2022, before returning to 20%.

There is also financial help for those businesses wanting to take on apprentices and trainees.  

Lockdown 3

New Government Support

The Chancellor has announced further support available for businesses forced to close because of the most recent lockdown.  

The new support is in the form of additional grants for those businesses and individuals paying business rates. There are grants of £4,000, £6,000 or £9,000 depending upon the rateable value of the property.

There are also new support grants that will be distributed by local councils, so it is worth keeping an eye on your local authority website for details when they are published.

Remember the existing support that is available and do make sure you claim what you are entitled to.   I have provided a link that lists what is currently available. The principal help is in the form of the furlough scheme, existing grants worth up to £3,000 and the loan schemes.

There has also been a hint that the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme will be extended but no details have been announced.

Unfortunately, nothing new has been done to help those employed by their own companies on low salaries and taking dividends or those who became self-employed relatively recently. Also there have been no new automatic deferrals of tax payments which means that if you are having trouble paying a recently arising VAT bill, PAYE bill or any Corporation Tax bill you will need to contact HMRC’s time to pay service before the tax due date. The same will be true for self-assessment tax bills due at the end of January 2021.

18 December Update

The government have announced that the furlough scheme will now run until 30 April 2021 paying 80% of wages (subject to limits).  Employers will continue to be responsible for covering the cost of Employers National Insurance and pensions.  They have already updated the various online guides.

This announcement replaces the review that had previously been announced would take place in January 2021.  There is also a suggestion that the next phase of support will be announced in time for businesses to make appropriate redundancy decisions and thus avoid the situation in October when some staff were made redundant and then re-employed.

The Corona Virus Business Loan Schemes have had their deadline for applications extended
to 31 March 2021 (it had been 31 January 2021).  These could prove to be a good option for many businesses where they avoid personal guarantees.  It is suggested that any loan support that follows on will require such guarantees.
11 November Update

HMRC have now updated their furlough scheme guidance for the changes that apply from 1 November.  The link to the right or below is a good place to start.  

It is worth noting that you have 14 days from the end of each month to make a claim under the extended scheme so make sure you claim on time.  For some businesses this will require additional monitoring of staff hours where employees are working flexibly or irregularly and are not paid at the month end. 
6 November Update

The page below has had a bit of a re-vamp and I have deleted some references as the landscape has changed somewhat in the past few days.

In Summary:
  • Furlough is back and will last until March 2021 with a review of its terms in January.  The current position is that it is a flexible furlough, meaning your staff can work part time if you have work for them to do and they can be furloughed for the balance of the time.  Unworked hours only need be paid at 80% of their value, up to certain thresholds and this amount can be claimed from the government under the existing system (once it has been updated).  However employers will need to pay employers national insurance and pension contributions.  Make sure that there are appropriate written agreements in place with any staff you furlough.  New employees can be included on this claim as long as they were on a reported payroll between 20 March and 23 September 2020 and were employed as at 30 October.
  • The furlough claim system will be down for a few days at the end of November while it is updated, so make sure you get your claims in early for any months up to and including October.
  • All this means that the Job Support Scheme which was due to replace furlough is now defunct, so I have removed any links to it in the page below.
  • The Job Retention Bonus has also been scrapped for now as it makes no sense while furlough exists.  I have removed any links to this so as not to cause confusion.
For the self employed SEISS has been extended to cover November to January at 80% of average trading profits, up to a maximum of £7,500.

Remember that if you are forced to close and your business pays rates then there are grants of up to £3,000 per month available.  These will be accessed through your local authority, so keep an eye on their pages.

The government backed loan schemes have also been extended.  These are loans and you should have a plan as to how you will pay the loan back, but they could be a useful means of getting past this crisis.

There are various options to delay payments of tax or negotiate with HMRC to do so under a time to pay agreement, there are links below in my previous updates.

Mortgage payment holidays have also been extended.

Large sections of the business community remain left out when it comes to assistance (this includes those who have recently set up as sole trades and partners and also those who trade via a company and take a low salary and dividends).  They are being asked to survive on Universal Credit, check your entitlement and make sure you claim before you run out of money all together,  you can still have some savings while claiming.  Citizens Advice and Money Saving Expert are good sites for this.  Be extra careful if you already claim some benefit as they could be lost if you switch to Universal Credit.
13 October 2020 - update.

It feels like we have been bombarded with a lot of changes recently.  Here is a summary of some of the headlines affecting businesses.

Help for your staff

Although none of the financial amounts are large Statutory Sick Pay is still available from the first day of absence if it is due to Covid-19 (a maximum of two weeks for an individual). Test and Trace support payments are available to those on low income who cannot work from home and have been told by Test and Trace to self-isolate.

Other Help for Businesses

If you are forced to close by the government then cash grants of up to £3,000 per month are available. A business will have to have been closed for 2 weeks to be eligible. The amount of grant is linked to the rateable value of business premises occupied.

Reduced rate VAT for the hospitality and tourism sectors has been extended until 31 March 2021.

Deferred VAT can now be paid by the original due date of 31 March 2021, or over 12 monthly instalments to 31 March 2022 or an alternative time to pay agreement. The latter two options must be formally arranged with HMRC.




Government main page.

The Government have published a very helpful support finder - just answer the questions to get an outline of the help available to you.

Government page listing all the financial support.

Summary of extended support announced on 29th May.

New grants available - On 30 July the government published details of new grants available to help businesses recover.  The grants are for fairly specific things so see the link below or to the right.

Eat Out to Help Out - for those of you in the hospitality industry and those of you missing going out.  It is hoped this will encourage us to help businesses fill tables on days we would not normally go out - critical as restaurant capacities have been reduced by social distancing rules.

Reduced VAT for certain industries - this applies to hospitality and businesses like museums and zoos.  

Local Information - BANES

Grants are meant to be being awarded automatically but many councils are asking rates payers to register.

You can also now apply for grants if you did not qualify for the original rates related grants.
Self Employed Income Support Scheme

Long awaited help for the self employed. HMRC will contact eligible individuals and give them the opportunity to apply.  The application process is now open and individuals need to apply on or after the date they are given.  Agents cannot do this for clients and where they are it is causing fraud alerts and delays in payment.  We can however help you check you have been paid the right amount or deal with circumstances where you think you are eligible and HMRC disagree.

This scheme has now been extended for a further three months but will a lowered maximum amount that can be claimed.  Beware, you may not be eligible to claim for the second period if your business has not been adversely affected in that second period, for example if you are a builder who has been able to return to work.  Conversely you may be able to claim for the second period when  you could not claim for the first, so don't just dismiss it without checking. 
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

For employers this will be the most helpful support.   It was extended to cover June 2020 and has recently been extended to October 2020 but with changes from July 2020 which will allow phased return to work for individual employees.  From August employers will need to cover Employers National Insurance costs and pension costs.  From September employers will only receive 70% of wages and will have to contribute 10% for furloughed staff, and for October the amounts will change to 60% with the employer covering 20% of wages.  The cap on what will be covered will also be reduced.

HMRC will be taking claims from 20 April 2020 and have now published a step by step guide for employers.

The "claim for wages costs....." document now includes links to an online calculator that can be used to calculate claims for salaried employees.  This is a link under "Work out 80% of your employee's usual wage".

The job retention scheme has been updated to cover directors.  It refers to director's statutory duties which are those contained in the Companies Act 2006  http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/part/10/chapter/2 and also requires formal minutes to be prepared if a director is furloughed.

HMRC have now updated their documents for the changes applying from 1 July.  A summary has also been published of these changes, there is a link either to the right or below.

You can also now make corrections to past furlough claims (where they decrease the amount of a claim) when you make your next claim, and you can delete a claim withing 72 hours of submitting it.

As of the end of July 2020 details of what to do if you have over- claimed are now contained in a separate document.  Details of penalties for uncorrected over-claims and otherwise incorrect claims have also been published.  

For those of you who are interested and enjoy a challenging read the government have published the "Treasury Direction" for the Job Retention Scheme.  These are the rules HMRC will be referring to when they administer the scheme.

VAT payments have also been deferred.  

This scheme has now ended, any VAT falling due from now on needs to be paid on time.  Any VAT payments businesses have deferred need to be settled by 31 March 2021.

On 3 April 2020 the government has published more detail on the Covid-19 Statutory Sick Pay rules

The old Statutory Sick Pay Rules (SSP) 

Use this to work out if someone is entitled to SSP in the first place.  If not they wont't get SSP and the employer cannot reclaim anything.


How to get an online isolation note

How to claim SSP

The government will provide a portal through which to claim any Covid-19 SSP from 26th May.
Detailed Old Employer Guide on Working out SSP.

Use this to work out if your employees are eligible for SSP.  If they are and their absence is due to Covid-19 you can make use of the new rules.
Guidance for Employers and businesses.

This updates regularly, so keep checking.


Who Should Shut Up Shop - and re-opening

Note that the document linked below/to the right is a little behind the curve in relation to re-opening.  It seems to only be updated once the date of rule changes have passed and dose not refer to future changes.

The retail discount scheme for rates relief has been expanded from that originally announced to include some other premises that have been forced to close. See "Expanded Retail Discount Regarding Rates" below.

Support for Business

Support for Business includes information about Statutory Sick Pay and a link to get support.

There is now detail regarding support for business trading internationally.

There are now dedicated phone lines for this. 
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme 

These are loans that will need to be repaid.  The 80% government backing protects the bank lending you the money, not you.  You have to repay 100% of it.  Many lenders are asking for some form of security from the borrower, (although this is easing now after a high level of complaints) so if things go wrong they could take your savings, car etc (your home is protected).  Shop around and think carefully about using this scheme, it won't be right for everyone, and make sure you check out the interest rates on loans once you are out of the period where the government covers charges and interest, some rates are very high.

Bounce Back Loans

These are smaller loans that should be easier to get.  Be careful of taking out a loan, if your business is not going to recover you will simply be left with debt.  The 100% guarantee is between the lender and the bank, you still have to pay it all.  If you fail to you may end up bankrupt and that is when the government will step in and compensate the lender.  However, if what you need is help with short term cash flow this could be great.  

Detail regarding the Rates discount has been published.  

A Hereditament (mentioned in the document) means: "any item of property, either a corporeal hereditament (land or a building) or an incorporeal hereditament (such as a rent), that can be inherited".

Here are details of the Grant Funding Schemes that are linked to rates

This document uses the word hereditament again - see above, Don't worry about it! 
ACAS has a useful web page for both employees and employers 

This is a good starting point if you need to find out about things like redundancies.
Extension to Companies House Filing Deadlines 

If you run a company speak to your accountant about this.  You have to apply for this and it may not actually be necessary for everyone.

Some Companies House deadlines have now been automatically extended if they fall due between 27 June 2020 and 5 April 2021.  Most significantly private companies have 12 months to file accounts and 42 days to file many other forms.  Please note that these are for filing documents at Companies House, they do not apply to documents and tax returns that HMRC are expecting.  Please consult your accountant as to how this applies to your company or may end up with fines and penalties to pay,

Guidance for Employees.



Council Tax Relief for Vulnerable Households
Detailed Stay at Home Rules.

This sets out various situations so you can work out how long you need to stay home.  For some people it could be up to three weeks, so beware that your staff may be gone longer than you think.
Planning permission relaxation to allow pubs and restaurants to operate as takeaways.
Temporary relaxation of certain delivery drivers' hours

This may offer an opportunity to some readers, and has been extended to all sectors, so if this is relevant to you look at both of these links.

There have also been some suspensions of driving tests and MOT's for heavy vehicles.
HMRC Time to pay numbers if you cannot pay your tax bills on time  

Remember it is always better to call them before your tax bill is due.  You will need to let them know your financial circumstances and they may ask when you expect to be able to pay.  
Redundancy

I know no one wants to but if you are forced to make someone redundant or if you yourself are facing redundancy here is a calculator to work out how much redundancy pay is due.  Normal rules apply regarding redundancies, your rights are, so far, unaffected by the current situation.
If you would like to discuss the services above please give me a call or send me an email.
Contact me