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COVID-19 : Government advice

The Government’s website – Gov.UK – has a lot of supporting information for businesses in relation to the emergency. Details can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses

Support is summarised as follows:

  • a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
  • deferring VAT and Self-Assessment payments
  • Self-employment Income Support Scheme
  • statutory sick pay relief package for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
  • a 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses in England
  • small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief
  • grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
  • the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to support long-term viable businesses who may need to respond to cash-flow pressures by seeking additional finance
  • a new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans
  • the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme to help with tax

Further guidance can also be found on the Government’s Business Support page, which can be found here: https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/faqs/.

Whilst a lot of the help still needs to be clarified, for example we do not yet know what conditions, if any, there are on the grants or whether accessing the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will obligate an employer to keep employees when the scheme or emergency finishes or face having to repay the grants, we recommend that action is taken now to contact HMRC and your bank to check what support they are able to give now.

 

 

We will seek to inform you with any critical updates as they occur, updating this Operational Guide for Management as necessary.

Should you have any comments, questions or wish to discuss any of the above with us or need help in deciding what to do please contact your usual EMC Consultant or Michael Pay on michael.pay@emcltd.co.uk or +44(0)1273 945 984.

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