Bells Accountants – Update on new Government support measures

New furlough scheme

• Furlough has now been extended until December (the precise date is unclear at the moment, but it is assumed to be 2 December when the current lockdown is eased)
• The Government will put in the full 80% (to a maximum of £2,500) for hours not worked, but employers will need to cover pension and National Insurance contributions
• Businesses can bring back furloughed employees
• Flexible furlough will still be allowed
• Employees must have been on the payroll by 30 October 2020
• Employees do not need to have been furloughed before to be eligible
• Employers will need to report and claim for a minimum of 7 consecutive days
• Employers can top up employee wages above the scheme grant if they so wish
• While the Government updates their system, employers will submit their wage claim to the Government and be refunded, after the system is updated, employers will be paid upfront to cover the cost.  There will be no gap in eligibility for support though
• Furlough will end in December after this current lockdown, and the Job Support Scheme will then take over

Self-employment grant

• Under the SEISS, eligible workers can claim support covering 40% of the average earnings from the last year to cover a period of 3 months, capped at £3,750
• However a new enhanced scheme will open for applications from the end of November, and cover 80% of trading profits for that month only
• Including the higher November grant, it means that the Nov20 – Jan21 payment will be at 55% of profits, up to a maximum of £5,160
• A further grant will cover Jan 21 – Apr 21, the level is yet to be announced
• You must have been eligible for the first and second rounds of SEISS to apply
• You must also declare that you were trading (but are unable to do so due to coronavirus) and plan to continue trading

Government-backed support loans

• Businesses will continue to be able to apply to banks for Government-backed support loans until 31 January, compared with a previous 30 November deadline

Business grants

Businesses required to close due to local or national restrictions will be eligible for the following:

• For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants to be £1,334 per month, or £667 per two weeks
• For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants to be £2,000 per month, or £1,000 per two weeks
• For properties with a rateable value of £51k or over grants to be £3,000 per month, or £1,500 per two weeks
• At the moment there is no detail as to how these are to be applied for or distributed

Other benefits

The Government will give firms:

• Up to £3,000 per month under the Local Restrictions Support Grant if their premises is forced to close
• £1.1bn is being given to Local Authorities, distributed on the basis of £20 per head, for one off payments to enable them to support businesses more broadly
• £1,000 for every furloughed employee kept on until at least the end of January. This will be paid in February 2021
• £1,500 for every out-of-work 16-24 year-old given a ”high quality” six-month work placement
• £2,000 for every under-25 apprentice taken on until the end of January, or £1,500 for over-25s

Mortgages

• Mortgage holidays will now be extended.  Borrowers who have not yet had a mortgage payment holiday will be entitled to a 6 month holiday, and those that have already started a mortgage payment holiday will be able to top up to 6 months without this being recorded on their credit file