Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The government has launched its Kickstart Scheme, an incentive for businesses who help at-risk young people get back into work.
It was first announced in the Chancellor’s Summer Statement back in July. We explain what the scheme is, how it works and how to apply.
>See also: Rishi Sunak Summer Statement what it means for small business
What is the Kickstart Scheme?
With the Kickstart Scheme, you can create six-month job placements for young people who are on Universal Credit and are at risk of long-term unemployment.
The job placements you create should encourage workers to develop skills and experience that will be useful to them in the jobs they undertake after the placement.
It’s available to businesses in England, Scotland and Wales.
How does the Kickstart Scheme work?
Funding will cover 100 per cent of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week along with associated National Insurance contributions and the employer’s minimum automatic enrolment contributions. A sum of £1,500 per job is also available for set-up costs, support and training.
You’ll get the funding if your application is successful. One thing you should know is that is that applications must be for a minimum of 30 placements. If
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Business body calls to extend tax-free shopping to EU visitors after Brexit
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Retailers in the West End of London want to extend tax-free shopping to EU shoppers after Brexit.
This will help them to get through the slump in sales following a slow recovery from the coronavirus lockdown. Footfall on London’s main shopping streets is down on pre-COVID 19 levels. It rose 12.7 per cent in the week to August 22nd, but this is still down 62 per cent on this time last year. Meanwhile, footfall is down 50 per cent in other regional cities and 30 per cent in outer London, according to Springboard.
A good chunk of this shortfall has been attributed to a lack of international tourists. New West End Company says that it relies on these visitors for over half of its £10bn annual revenue.
The organisation’s chairman, Peter Rogers, is calling for tax-free shopping to be extended to EU visitors once the Brexit transition period ends in December. His letter has signatures from over 70 executives including retail groups like Harrods and H&M.
>See also: How to cope with the slow return to trade post-lockdown
Why would extending tax-free shopping help businesses?
Statistics from NWEC, international tourists spend over £6bn, over half of which is tax-free.
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How to claim your Kickstart Scheme grant
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The government has launched its Kickstart Scheme, an incentive for businesses who help at-risk young people get back into work.
It was first announced in the Chancellor’s Summer Statement back in July. We explain what the scheme is, how it works and how to apply.
>See also: Rishi Sunak Summer Statement what it means for small business
What is the Kickstart Scheme?
With the Kickstart Scheme, you can create six-month job placements for young people who are on Universal Credit and are at risk of long-term unemployment.
The job placements you create should encourage workers to develop skills and experience that will be useful to them in the jobs they undertake after the placement.
It’s available to businesses in England, Scotland and Wales.
How does the Kickstart Scheme work?
Funding will cover 100 per cent of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week along with associated National Insurance contributions and the employer’s minimum automatic enrolment contributions. A sum of £1,500 per job is also available for set-up costs, support and training.
You’ll get the funding if your application is successful. One thing you should know is that is that applications must be for a minimum of 30 placements. If
Hot Business News Today
Business body calls to extend tax-free shopping to EU visitors after Brexit
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Retailers in the West End of London want to extend tax-free shopping to EU shoppers after Brexit.
This will help them to get through the slump in sales following a slow recovery from the coronavirus lockdown. Footfall on London’s main shopping streets is down on pre-COVID 19 levels. It rose 12.7 per cent in the week to August 22nd, but this is still down 62 per cent on this time last year. Meanwhile, footfall is down 50 per cent in other regional cities and 30 per cent in outer London, according to Springboard.
A good chunk of this shortfall has been attributed to a lack of international tourists. New West End Company says that it relies on these visitors for over half of its £10bn annual revenue.
The organisation’s chairman, Peter Rogers, is calling for tax-free shopping to be extended to EU visitors once the Brexit transition period ends in December. His letter has signatures from over 70 executives including retail groups like Harrods and H&M.
>See also: How to cope with the slow return to trade post-lockdown
Why would extending tax-free shopping help businesses?
Statistics from NWEC, international tourists spend over £6bn, over half of which is tax-free.
Hot Business News Today
Bank of England eyes Working Capital Jobs Retention Scheme
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
EXCLUSIVE: The Bank of England is eyeing payroll finance technology as a possible successor to the furlough scheme, which ends in October.
The coronavirus jobs retention scheme will cost the government £60bn in total but industry is braced for millions being made redundant when the scheme closes on October 31.
PwC estimates that without any extension one in five of those now on furlough will be made redundant. The Bank of England itself estimates that unemployment will almost double to 7.5 per cent by the end of the year, as things stand.
>See also: What do SMEs think is the best business bank account? – survey
Called the Working Capital Jobs Retention Scheme, the ground-breaking payroll technology is the brainchild of David Brown, fintech entrepreneur and chief executive of Hi55. The WCJRS would enable the banks to fund up at least £4,300 per employee risk free, throwing businesses another working capital lifebelt.
This is because EU law stipulates that all European governments must still cover payroll for a fixed period should their employer go bust. The Employment Rights Act has been law since 1996.
In the UK the government must step in and pay each employee £538 for each
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Almost 70,000 SMEs risk missing out on government coronavirus grants
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
A massive 69,543 of eligible SMEs in England have yet to claim for the government coronavirus grants announced back in March.
This amounts to almost £1.5bn worth of funding, as revealed by new figures from money.co.uk.
So far the government has given almost one million small to medium-sized businesses in England an emergency coronavirus grant – either in the form of the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF) or the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Grants Fund (RHLGF)
Earlier in August, figures showed that £10.8bn had been paid out to businesses, highlighting that a significant sum of this money has gone unclaimed.
The deadline for claiming these grants is this Friday, August 28 and any unassigned funding will be returned to the government.
>See also: You have just one month to claim up to £1.6bn in unspent grants
How much grant funding has my local authority given out?
The average grant provided by English councils is £12,269. Camden is giving out the most per grant, providing SMEs an average of £18,852. This is closely followed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (£18,740) and Westminster Council (£17,615).
Out of the top 20, three quarters (75 per cent) of local authorities paying
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People Who Get Coronavirus Develop Long-Term Immunity Via T Cells: Study
by Aylin Woodward • • 0 Comments
We now have the best evidence yet that everyone develops long-term coronavirus immunity after infection – and it’s not just about antibodies.
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Only 43% of businesses plan to claim £1,000 furlough bonus
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
New figures reveal that almost half of businesses aren’t going to take up the £1,000 furlough bonus scheme.
The latest British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) Coronavirus Business Tracker was carried out around two weeks after the Chancellor’s Summer Statement, gathering responses from over 500 companies.
The intention of the scheme is to give employers confidence in retaining and hiring employees. Plans also include a subsidy to cover some of the pay for young people and grants for apprenticeships and trainees.
Even fewer businesses want to take part in these other schemes. A substantial 56 per cent of businesses said they didn’t intend on using the Kickstart scheme, a further 31 per cent hadn’t even heard of the scheme and 8 per cent want to use it but are not eligible.
Measures are insufficient in protecting jobs with almost a third of businesses expecting to cut workforces in the next three months, according to the BCC. Some firms say the coverage from the bonus scheme isn’t worthwhile as it’ll still be too costly to bring employees back.
Over half of firms (55 per cent) have reported a slight or significant decrease in their cash flow since June 2020. Another
Hot Business News Today
Only 43% of businesses plan to claim £1,000 furlough bonus
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
New figures reveal that almost half of businesses aren’t going to take up the £1,000 furlough bonus scheme.
The latest British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) Coronavirus Business Tracker was carried out around two weeks after the Chancellor’s Summer Statement, gathering responses from over 500 companies.
The intention of the scheme is to give employers confidence in retaining and hiring employees. Plans also include a subsidy to cover some of the pay for young people and grants for apprenticeships and trainees.
Even fewer businesses want to take part in these other schemes. A substantial 56 per cent of businesses said they didn’t intend on using the Kickstart scheme, a further 31 per cent hadn’t even heard of the scheme and 8 per cent want to use it but are not eligible.
Measures are insufficient in protecting jobs with almost a third of businesses expecting to cut workforces in the next three months, according to the BCC. Some firms say the coverage from the bonus scheme isn’t worthwhile as it’ll still be too costly to bring employees back.
Over half of firms (55 per cent) have reported a slight or significant decrease in their cash flow since June 2020. Another
Hot Business News Today
How to make a successful business interruption insurance claim
by Steven Skiba • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Steven Skiba on Small Business
A crucial High Court ruling is set to determine whether insurers will have to pay out under business interruption insurance policies, to meet claims for COVID-19-related losses.
While the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) test case is set to provide much-needed clarity to businesses and insurers alike, paying close attention to the wording of individual policies is key to making a successful business interruption insurance claim.
So, what else do businesses need to consider in order to maximise their chances of success, and what are their options in the event that a claim is rejected?
Landmark High Court case
The issue of whether business interruption insurance policies cover pandemic-related losses is one of the most controversial legal issues resulting from the coronavirus crisis. In bringing its test case to the High Court, the FCA is aiming to provide a roadmap to businesses and insurers regarding how to interpret the wording of policies and therefore the amount that should fairly be awarded.
Worth potentially billions of pounds, the case has involved examining 17 policy wordings from eight different insurers in order to determine whether COVID-19 triggers a pay-out. However, the ruling is expected to have ripple effects for the entire