Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Rishi Sunak is to stop new applicants from joining the jobs furlough scheme, in a bid to continue winding the scheme down.
Part-time working from furloughed staff is expected to be allowed from August, following pressure from MPs and retail associations. The government has announced that non-essential shops can reopen from June 15.
However, according to the Financial Times, the chancellor wants to stop new applicants from joining the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) to stop them from going on furlough and immediately coming back off it to work part-time – leaving the Treasury to pick up the bill.
>See also: Government launches business Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Mr Sunak is expected to announce changes to the jobs furlough scheme including asking small businesses to cover 20 per cent of the cost of the CJRS, as well as allowing part-time furlough, by the end of this week.
Currently, 8m people are on furlough, roughly a quarter of the total jobs in Britain.
A quarter of company directors surveyed by the Institute of Directors say they won’t be able to afford to pay even the 20 per cent of the furlough scheme if asked – as well as having to
Tag Archive for Government Grants
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Small businesses could have to cover up to one third of furlough cost
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Rishi Sunak is set to announce this week that small businesses will have to cover anything between 20-30 per cent of the cost of furlough.
Meaning that small businesses will have to fork out £833 per month to keep each staff member on furlough if they’re claiming the full £2,500 amount.
And small business owners will also have to pick up the cost of national insurance contributions on top, on average 5 per cent of wages, says the Times.
According to accountancy firm Wellers, this would cost an additional £245.73 per month, bringing the monthly total for each furloughed employee to over £1,000 a month.
However, the government will still cover the cost of pension contributions. Previously, Bloomberg reported that the Treasury was considering asking businesses to cover both national insurance and pensions.
>See also: Rishi Sunak extends job retention furlough scheme to October
What’s being floated today goes much further.
Unemployment scrapheap
The fear is that many small businesses, especially those in leisure and hospitality, will be forced to throw staff onto the unemployment scrapheap, as the Treasury effectively ends the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) in August, not October.
The hospitality sector, which will be the very last sector to reopen,
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Businesses may have to cover insurance and pensions of furloughed staff
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Rishi Sunak could ask thousands of small businesses to cover national insurance and pension contributions of staff on furlough from August.
Earlier this month, announcing the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme would be extended until the end of October, the chancellor said that businesses would have to share some of the cost with government.
>See also: Rishi Sunak extends job retention furlough scheme to October
According to Bloomberg, one idea under consideration is asking small businesses to share the pain by covering national insurance contributions and auto-enrollment pension contributions of furloughed staff.
Over a million businesses have furloughed staff through the CJRS, which covers up to 80 per cent of an employee’s wages capped at £2,500 per month.
The fear is that asking mothballed businesses to cover national insurance and pension contributions will only hasten the inevitable redundancies when people come out of furlough. The gloomy prognosis is that a million or so workers currently furloughed have already lost their jobs but are being kept on furlough ventilator support.
>See also: Government launches business Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
The government has been paying 80 per cent of the wages of about eight million workers. CJRS has cost more than £11bn and
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Self-Employed Income Support Scheme now open for applications
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
HMRC has opened its Self-Employed Income Scheme for applications here.
Around 3.5m self-employed freelancers and contractors will already have been contacted by HMRC, deeming that they are eligible for the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
Freelancers and the self-employed can apply for a one-off payment of up to £7,500 covering three months. This is based at looking at your tax returns for the past three years and then averaging your monthly income. Only freelancers and the self-employed who have been earning up to £50,000 a year can apply for the self-employed coronavirus income support scheme.
>See also: Self-employed Income Support Scheme what it means for you
The grant does not need to be repaid but will be subject to income tax and national insurance.
Money should hit bank accounts by May 25 or six working days after a claim is made.
However, the Treasury is already thinking about dropping the ceiling for self-employed support to £30,000 when the scheme is extended.
And the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme does not cover owner-directors of small businesses. Treasury believes it would be too difficult to calculate an average of three years’ worth of self-employed income from the tax returns of owner-directors, which include
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Rishi Sunak extends job retention furlough scheme to October
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confounded expectations by extending the furlough job retention scheme to October at the same 80 per cent support level.
Rishi Sunak said there will be no changes to the furlough job retention scheme until the end of July.
From August part-time working from furloughed employees will be allowed, with employers picking up a greater percentage of the tab. Mr Sunak said that further details will be announced later his month. The chancellor left the door open for part-time furloughed workers to be allowed back before August, providing there was sign-up from unions and business associations.
Mr Sunak said that he expects the scheme to end by November. “Eight months of support is a considerable amount of time,” he said.
>See also: Government launches business Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
The chancellor said that the furlough scheme has helped 7.5m workers protect their jobs, with over 1m businesses being supported.
Mr Sunak said: “I’m extending this scheme because I want to help the people who need it.”
Shadow chancellor Annelise Dodds said that she’d been taken aback by press reports quoting officials saying that workers needed to be “weaned” off the job retention scheme.
Ms Dodds said: “We will
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Government eyes extending 60% furlough scheme until September
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is eyeing extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme furlough until September with Treasury covering 60 per cent of staff wages.
The Treasury is also considering topping up wages of part-time staff taken off furlough as they drift back in to work.
Previously, the chancellor has said there will be no “cliff edge” of businesses having furlough support suddenly switched off as they reopen. Originally, the furlough scheme was set to expire at the end of May, then July, and now, apparently, September.
Prime minister Boris Johnson announced a very limited opening up of the economy last night, with only those who cannot work from home being encouraged to return to work.
Shops could reopen by the start of June, while some outdoor hospitality venues and cinemas may reopen in July – providing the government sees evidence of the coronavirus dying out.
Garden centres and golf courses are other businesses reportedly being allowed to reopen this week.
Ongoing headache
How to wean businesses off the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which currently costs the Treasury £6bn a month, is an ongoing headache for the Treasury. The scheme could end up costing as much over a year as the NHS.
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HMRC opens self-employed income support early on May 13
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
HMRC will open the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) earlier than expected on May 13.
The taxman has already begun notifying the self-employed if they are eligible for the SEISS.
Previously chancellor Rishi Sunak had announced the scheme would open in June.
The claim service will open on May 13 and payments to eligible workers will be made by May 25, or within six working days of completing an application.
Approved claims through the self-employed income support will be made within six working days.
The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme will allow you to claim a taxable grant of 80 per cent of your average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months, and capped at £7,500 altogether.
>See also: Self-employed Income Support Scheme what it means for you
HMRC says this temporary scheme may be extended.
The grant will be subject to Income Tax and self-employed National Insurance.
You can check if you’re eligible to claim through the HMRC website here.
Self-Employed Income Support
While the accelerated scheme will be welcomed by the 3.8m self-employed workers thought to be eligible, the government’s decision to press ahead with the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme disappoint up to 2m people who it has
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Treasury bails out small businesses in co-working spaces
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The government has bailed out small businesses in co-working spaces and market traders ineligible for coronavirus business grants to the tune of £617m.
This additional £617m will be added to the £12.3bn handed to local authorities for them to distribute to all small businesses, with additional help for those in retail, leisure and hospitality.
Small businesses working out of co-working spaces cried foul that, because they were not directly paying business rates, they were ineligible for either the small business grants fund or the retail, hospitality and leisure grants.
>See also: Nearly 40% of small business grants still unpaid five weeks in
According to research from business rates experts Colliers, more than 10,000 small businesses based in shared offices originally missed out on the grant.
There will be three levels of grant payments from between £10,000 up to £25,000.
However, local authorities can decide to pay amounts of less than £10,000 depending on local needs, if they so wish.
Qualifying businesses
Businesses in shared spaces
Regular market traders
Small charity properties
Bed and breakfasts that pay council tax rather than business rates
Emma Jones, founder small business support network, Enterprise Nation, said: “It is great news that the government has extended grant support to small
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Where to find your small business coronavirus grant
by Small Business Team • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Small Business Team on Small Business
Responding to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the government announced there would be support for small businesses and businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. This small business coronavirus grant will take the form of two funding schemes:
The Small Business Grant Fund – a one-off grant of £10,000 for eligible businesses to help meet their ongoing business costs
Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant – a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property if you are eligible (businesses with a property that has a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000)
So far, about 50 per cent of businesses eligible for the coronavirus small business grant have received their cash but some councils have only distributed a tenth of the money due to small businesses, according to the business ministry.
See also: How to get the government’s £10,000 cash grant for small businesses
As of April 20, £6.11bn has been paid out to 491,725 business properties in England.
Because grants are allocated per business property, a single business can receive multiple grants and may receive grants from separate local authorities.
English Local Councils Coronavirus Grants
Local Authority Initial Allocation (£)No. of eligible small businesses as of April
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Wales announces £500m Economic Resilience Fund
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
The Welsh government has announced a £500m Economic Resilience Fund, partly to help small businesses blighted by coronavirus.
The Economic Resilience Fund aims to plug gaps in the support schemes already announced by the UK government, including the Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, which will guarantee 80 per cent of people’s wages and income.
>See also: How to get the government’s £10,000 cash grant for small businesses
The new £500m Economic Resilience Fund will support firms of all sizes, including social enterprises, with a focus on those which have not already benefited from the coronavirus business grants already announced by Welsh government.
The £500m Economic Resilience Fund is made up of two main elements:
A new £100m Development Bank of Wales fund will be available for companies experiencing cash flow problems as a result of the pandemic and will provide loans of between £5,000 and £250,000 at favourable interest rates
Businesses will also be able to benefit from a £400m emergency pot providing:
– Grants of £10,000 for micro-businesses employing up to nine people. This includes sole traders employing staff. Qualifying businesses will be able to apply by mid-April
– Grants of up to £100,000 for small