Business

Yesterday, some further guidelines for the Job Retention Scheme were released. These relate to what employees can be furloughed.

Employers can now furlough staff who need to shield inline with public health guidance, or if they need to stay home with someone who is shielding, and they are unable to work from home.

Parents who have to stay at home to care for children due to the coronavirus regulations can also now be furloughed.

Employers can now also re-hire staff that were made redundant or stopped working for the business on or after 28/02/2020. They can re-employ the staff and furlough them. There aren’t any specific guidelines on the HMRC website that say how a business does this, but I did find this article by the ICAEW that talks about how it can be done: https://www.icaew.com/insights/tax-news/2020/apr-2020/covid19-act-fast-to-reinstate-workers-for-the-furlough-grant. I would advise that you speak to the person who does your payroll, or if you are the one who does the payroll, speak to your payroll software provider to find out how you can re-employ your staff as each software is going to be different.

The information and policies are continually being updated by the government, so I urge you to keep on top of the information by visiting the relevant website for your area.

UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
Wales: https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus
Northern Ireland: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/

I will be trying to keep myself as informed as possible and will share relevant information on my fb business page: https://www.facebook.com/ihelmenterprises/

We haven’t had any really big announcements in the last few days – but I am keeping a close eye on the news briefings and the information that is being released, and I will keep doing updates as and when new or updated information becomes available

1) Statutory Sick Pay

Further guidance has been made available about how employers can claim back Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid to employees due to Covid-19. The online system for claiming back the SSP isn’t available just yet, but HMRC will announce once it is. This scheme is only for current or former employees who had periods of sickness starting on or after 13/03/2020 and employers will be able to claim back the current rate of SSP. It will cover up to 2 weeks starting from the first day of sickness if an employee is unable to work because they either have coronavirus or cannot work due to having to self-isolate at home.

Employers can only access the scheme if they are claiming for an employee who is eligible for SSP due to coronavirus, had a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started on or before 28/02/2020 and had fewer than 250 employers on 28/02/2020. It covers all employment contracts including full-time employees, part-time employees, employees on agency contracts and employees on flexible or zero-hour contracts. There is currently no end-date for this scheme but HMRC will announce when it will end.

Charities and companies that are connected can also access this scheme if their total combined number of PAYE employees were fewer than 250 on or before 28/02/2020.

In order to claim back the SSP, you will need to keep specific records for at least 3 years following your claim which includes:
– why the employee could not work
– details of each period when an employee could not work (including start and end dates)
– details of the SSP qualifying days when an employee could not work
– NI numbers of all employees who you have paid SSP to

2) Job Retention Scheme

The online system for submitting information about your furloughed employees should be available by the end of April 2020.

The grant will cover 80% of the usual monthly wage for a furloughed employee, up to £2,500/month, plus the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and the minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on that wage

In order for employers to claim, they must have created and started a PAYE payroll scheme on or before 28/02/2020, enrolled for PAYE online (this can take up to 10 days) and a UK bank account. Any entity with a UK payroll can apply for this scheme (businesses, charities, recruitment agencies and public authorities).

There is a lot of information contained within the document on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme and some of it is pretty comprehensive so I won’t be going through every individual bit in the blog post. I will be touching on some of the most important bits though. One of those things is the question about the rules for directors of companies and how this scheme works for them. They have also made it very clear about what you can and cannot ask employees to do while they are furloughed and what their rights are.

Further information has now been released in regards to eligible individuals who are not employees (so directors of companies). If the director has been paid via PAYE and they are office holders, salaried members of a Limited Liability Partnership (LLPs), agency workers (including those employed by umbrella companies) and limb (b) workers. There are very specific considerations for these types of situations where the individual is paid via PAYE but is not necessarily an employee in regards to Employment Law. Unless explicitly set out in the scheme, all other guidance is applicable to these cases and should be followed.

Office Holders: they can be furloughed and receive support through this scheme. The payment will need to be agreed between the office holder and the party who operates PAYE on the income they receive for holding their office. If the office holder is a company director or member of an LLP, the furlough arrangements should be adopted formally as a decision of the company or LLP.

Company Directors: salaried company directors are eligible to be furloughed through this scheme. During the time period the director is furloughed, they can carry out their statutory duties to the company as outlined in the Companies Act 2006, but they cannot do more than would reasonably be judged necessary for that purpose (ie they should not carry out work they would carry out in normal circumstances to generate commerce revenue or provide services to or on behalf of their company). This also applies to individuals who are directors of their own personal service company (PSC). Basically, a company director can be furloughed but they cannot do anything for the business that would be seen as generating any income for it – no promotion of the business, cannot provide service to customers, cannot respond to e-mails or issue invoices to customers, they can only do the jobs that are their legal statutory duties for the position they hold in their company (filing accounts with Companies House, filing the corporation tax return).

3) Business Interruption Loans

Yesterday, the Chancellor announced changes to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme so that more businesses are able to access this support. Various banks and lenders have been putting their own roadblocks up to restrict what sort of products a business is able to access – and this has caused a lot of problems for small businesses who have tried to access support to help with short-term cashflow issues while they wait for the government schemes to start working. This scheme has now been expanded to include all viable small businesses affected by Covid-19, and not just those who are unable to secure regular commercial financing. The government has also announced that lenders are not allowed to request personal guarantees for loans under £250,000. The government has also said ” For loans over £250,000, personal guarantees will be limited to just 20% of any amount outstanding on the CBILS lending after any other recoveries from business assets. Lenders were already prohibited from asking business owners to put their house on the line, but today’s changes will provide further reassurance regarding personal assets during this difficult time.” All of the new changes will apply to finance already offered under the scheme.

The Chancellor also announced an additional scheme for large businesses who have a turnover of between £45 million and £500 million. They will provide a government guarantee of 80% to enable banks to make loans of up to £25 million. All loans backed by a guarantee under Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) will be offered at commercial rates of interest and further details will be released later this month.

More providers of the CBILS are continuing to be accredited and added to the scheme to aid businesses in being able to access it.

The information and policies are continually being updated by the government, so I urge you to keep on top of the information by visiting the relevant website for your area.

UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
Wales: https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus
Northern Ireland: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/

I will be trying to keep myself as informed as possible and will share relevant information on my fb business page: https://www.facebook.com/ihelmenterprises/

I want to try and keep the information as clear and as simple as I possibly can for everyone, so I won’t be writing out everything again, I will just be writing out the highlights.

There weren’t any big announcements yesterday to do with businesses and the support available, but I have been going through some of the schemes already released and just wanted to update everyone on what I have found out.

1) Job Retention Scheme

There has been clarification on how this scheme works. If your employer chooses to place you on furlough, you must remain on furlough for a minimum of 3 weeks. Your employer can place you on furlough more than once, and one period can follow straight after an existing furlough period, while the scheme is open.

While an employee is on furlough, they are able to undertake training or volunteer but the employee cannot make money for their employer or provide services to their employer.

We don’t know yet exactly how an employer notifies HMRC that their staff have been furloughed, or un-furloughed – but as soon as the system has been designed and is open we will share that information.

If your employer asks you go to on furlough and you refuse, you could be at risk of redundancy or termination of employment, depending on the circumstances of your employer. The employer will need to follow the normal redundancy rules and protections.

The information and policies are continually being updated by the government, so I urge you to keep on top of the information by visiting the relevant website for your area.

UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
Wales: https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus
Northern Ireland: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/

I will be trying to keep myself as informed as possible and will share relevant information on my fb business page: https://www.facebook.com/ihelmenterprises/

I want to try and keep the information as clear and as simple as I possibly can for everyone, so I won’t be writing out everything again, I will just be writing out the highlights.

It was a fairly quiet weekend in regards to announcements for businesses – I think they are keeping the business-related items to during the week.

They did announce at the briefing yesterday that things may need to continue for much longer than expected, but that the plans are being reviewed every 3 weeks.

There was an announcement late on Saturday about the government is going to be relaxing the rules around insolvency for businesses affected by Covid-19. Businesses that are undergoing a rescue or restructure process will be allowed to continue trading, which will give them breathing space that could potentially help them to avoid insolvency. There hasn’t been any clear information yet on what this actually means, but here is a link to the press release: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/regulations-temporarily-suspended-to-fast-track-supplies-of-ppe-to-nhs-staff-and-protect-companies-hit-by-covid-19

I will be doing some fb lives next week on the self-employed support scheme, the job retention scheme, as well as a more general one to cover all of the support available to businesses, so keep an eye out for those on the FaceBook page. I will also be putting together some fact sheets about each of the schemes available so that all of the information is in one place.

The information and policies are continually being updated by the government, so I urge you to keep on top of the information by visiting the relevant website for your area.

UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
Wales: https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus
Northern Ireland: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/

I will be trying to keep myself as informed as possible and will share relevant information on my fb business page: https://www.facebook.com/ihelmenterprises/

I want to try and keep the information as clear and as simple as I possibly can for everyone, so I won’t be writing out everything again, I will just be writing out the highlights.

1) HMRC have provided additional guidance on what expenses are taxable if your employee is working from home due to Covid-19. Employees who are affected are those who are working from home because your workplace has closed or they are self-isolating due to the advice from the government. Furloughed Workers who are eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme are not eligible. There are actually quite a lot of restrictions as to what can be claimed and what can’t be claimed:

– if the employee already has a broadband connection at home and pays for it then they cannot claim this as a taxable expense, however, if the connection doesn’t exist already and is needed for the employee to work from home, the fee can be reimbursed by you and is non-taxable; any private use must be limited
– laptop/tablets/computers/office supplies – if these are mainly used for business purposes and not significant private use, these are non-taxable.
– if the employee has to buy office equipment in order to be able to do their job from home these are taxable and should be reported on your PAYE settlement agreements
– electricity/heating/broadband – payments or reimbursements to your employees of up to £4.00/week (£6.00/week from 06/04/2020) is non-taxable for the addional household expenses incurred; if the claim is above this amount, the employee needs to check with you beforehand to see if you will make the payments and keep the receipts
– if your employee needs to self-isolate but can’t do that in their home, you can reimburse them for hotel expenses and subsistence costs which are taxable
– use of employees own vehicle for business can be reimbursed at the approved mileage allowance rates free of tax and NI; if you don’t pay mileage allowance the employee can claim tax relief through their Personal Tax Account
– you don’t have to keep detailed records of every instance of private use to prove your claim for exemption
To read more about the rules around significant personal use and how to report the information to HMRC, you can read about the specific guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-which-expenses-are-taxable-if-your-employee-works-from-home-due-to-coronavirus-covid-19

2) HMRC have relaxed the rules on carrying over annual leave due to Covid-19

The government is going to amend the regulations to allow annual leave for all employees affected by Covid-19 to be carried over into the next 2 years. The new regulations will allow up to 4 weeks of unused annual leave to be carried over and used over the next 2 years, making it easier for businesses to meet the requirements of ensuring workers take the statutory amount of annual leave in any year. This will amend the Working Time Regulations which apply to almost all workers including agency workers, those who work irregular hours, and workers on zero-hour contracts. The full article can be seen here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rules-on-carrying-over-annual-leave-to-be-relaxed-to-support-key-industries-during-covid-19

3) Self-employed scheme

For those who have not yet submitted their Income Tax Self-Assessment Tax Returns for the 2018/2019 tax year, you must do this by 23/04/2020 in order to be eligible for the scheme.

If you claim tax credits, you will need to include the grant in your claim as income.

I will be doing some fb lives next week on the self-employed support scheme, the job retention scheme, as well as a more general one to cover all of the support available to businesses, so keep an eye out for those on the FaceBook page. I will also be putting together some fact sheets about each of the schemes available so that all of the information is in one place.

The information and policies are continually being updated by the government, so I urge you to keep on top of the information by visiting the relevant website for your area.

UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
Wales: https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus
Northern Ireland: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/

I will be trying to keep myself as informed as possible and will share relevant information on my fb business page: https://www.facebook.com/ihelmenterprises/

I want to try and keep the information as clear and as simple as I possibly can for everyone, so I won’t be writing out everything again, I will just be writing out the highlights.

Last night’s big announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer was a support package for the self-employed. This is what we currently know:

– the scheme is only open to those self-employed people who have filed tax returns up to and including the 2018/2019 tax year and are still trading in the 2019/2020 tax year
– are trading when you apply (or would be except for Covid-19)
– intend to continue to trade in the 2020/2021 tax year
– have lost trading/partnership trading profits due to Covid-19
– those who have a trading profit of less than £50,000 in the 2018/2019 tax year, or an average trading profit of less than £50,000 from 2016/2017, 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 are eligible
– more than half of your income has to have come from self-employment
– you will receive 80% of your average monthly trading profit over the last three years (where applicable), up to £2,500/month in grants for at least 3 months; HMRC will add together the total trading profit for the tax years, divide by 3 (where applicable) and use this to calculate your monthly amount
– only those who are already in self-employment and meet the above conditions can apply
– the scheme also applies to members of partnerships
– HMRC will contact all of those who eligible and tell them how to apply
– the scheme is being designed from scratch and will cover the three months to May
– the grants will be paid in a single lump-sum installment covering the three months and will start to be paid at the beginning of June
– this is a taxable grant
– DO NOT contact HMRC – they will be using the existing information to contact those who eligible
– sole director limited companies where the director is paid through a PAYE scheme is not eligible for this scheme
You can read more about the scheme here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme

2) HMRC have announced a new helpline number for businesses and self-employed to contact HMRC about tax-related issues due to coronavirus: 0800 024 1222.

3) Job Retention Scheme

The government has published more in-depth information about the job retention scheme and you can read it here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

There hasn’t yet been any clarification on how sole directors are able to access support – according to some of the information provided by the government, sole director companies may be able to access support through the Job Retention Scheme – however, that requires the employee to be furloughed and unable to do any work for the business, so I have reached out to a number of agencies to try and get some clarification on this. As soon as I have had any concrete clarification, I will pass that information on.

I will be doing some fb lives next week on the self-employed support scheme, the job retention scheme, as well as a more general one to cover all of the support available to businesses, so keep an eye out for those on the FaceBook page. I will also be putting together some fact sheets about each of the schemes available so that all of the information is in one place.

The information and policies are continually being updated by the government, so I urge you to keep on top of the information by visiting the relevant website for your area.

UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
Wales: https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus
Northern Ireland: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/

I will be trying to keep myself as informed as possible and will share relevant information on my fb business page: https://www.facebook.com/ihelmenterprises/

I want to try and keep the information as clear and as simple as I possibly can for everyone, so I won’t be writing out everything again, I will just be writing out the highlights.

There were a couple of announcements and additional information provided yesterday for businesses.

1) Support for businesses through deferring VAT payments

HMRC updated the information late yesterday to say that customers who normally pay their VAT via direct debit should cancel the direct debit with their bank if they are unable to pay. Customers are advised to do this in sufficient time so that HMRC doesn’t attempt to automatically collect the payment when the VAT return is received.

2) Businesses who file accounts with Companies House

Businesses that need to file their accounts with Companies House will be able to apply for a 3-month extension to do so. This will allow businesses to prioritise managing the impact of Coronavirus. Even though the company will have to apply, any company that cites issues around Covid-19 (including health issues) will automatically and immediately be granted an extension. The applications can be made through a fast-tracked online system which will only take 15 minutes to complete. If a company has already extended their filing deadline, or shortened their accounting period, they may be ineligible for an extension. As with other policies, the government and Companies House will continue to review and change things as necessary. You can read more about how to do it here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-more-time-to-file-your-companys-accounts

3) Job Retention Scheme

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales have created a document about the Job Retention Scheme and how they understand it. It may not be 100% correct but it is based on the information that has been published and shared: https://www.icaew.com/-/media/corporate/files/insights/coronavirus/the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-the-furlough-scheme.ashx

The information and policies are continually being updated by the government, so I urge you to keep on top of the information by visiting the relevant website for your area.

UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
Wales: https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus
Northern Ireland: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/

I will be trying to keep myself as informed as possible and will share relevant information on my fb business page: https://www.facebook.com/ihelmenterprises/

I want to try and keep the information as clear and as simple as I possibly can for everyone, so I won’t be writing out everything again, I will just be writing out the highlights.

Yesterday’s announcements by the government dealt mainly with health. It is rumoured that the government is working on a package for the self-employed, but as of yet nothing has been announced. Rest assured that I will share any information that is released as soon as it is available.

1) The government did release information late yesterday about how to claim the Small Business Grant Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund. It’s a very lengthy document so I am just going to post a link to it, but it tells the local authorities how to provide this grant to businesses and includes further information on the eligible criteria. You can read about it here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/874772/small-business-grant-fund-and-retail-guidance.pdf

2) Information is now available for the Nursery Discount that was announced the other day. It goes through who is eligible and how the local authorities will provide this assistance: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/874284/Nursery_discount_guidance.pdf

The information and policies are continually being updated by the government, so I urge you to keep on top of the information by visiting the relevant website for your area.

UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
Wales: https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus
Northern Ireland: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/

I will be trying to keep myself as informed as possible and will share relevant information on my fb business page: https://www.facebook.com/ihelmenterprises/

I want to try and keep the information as clear and as simple as I possibly can for everyone, so I won’t be writing out everything again, I will just be writing out the highlights.

There weren’t any big financial announcements last night, but the UK Government did announce that the country is now in lockdown and only essential businesses are allowed to stay open. You can read more about what businesses must close by going to: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/874732/230320_-_Revised_guidance_note_-_finalVF.pdf

If there is any way that you can run your business online, I would advise that you do so as this way you can keep your business going.

Thus far, nothing has been announced for the self-employed or the micro-businesses (sole director companies with no other employees), but we are hopeful that a package will be announced to support these types of businesses in a similar way to larger businesses. As soon as anything is announced I will of course share that information.

All of the support out there is meant to be accessible from today – if you are eligible for support due to Small Business Rate Relief you will be contacted by your council.

1) One announcement that did come out is that Nurseries that pay business rates will now get a rates holiday for the 2020 to 2021 tax year. The properties must be occupied by providers of Ofsted’s Early Years Register and be wholly or mainly used for the provision of the Early Years Foundation Stage. You don’t need to do anything to receive this holiday as the council will automatically contact you.

2) A new website has been launched by the Government to provide information on the support available to businesses: https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/

3) Moratorium on Lease Forfeiture for Commercial Tenants

The government has extended protection to commercial tenants so that landlords cannot evict tenants who are not able to pay their rent due to coronavirus. This will last for a period of 3 months. Tenants are encouraged to talk to their landlords about a payment holiday or a reduction in rent for a 3 month period to allow them to improve their cashflow. The tenant will still be liable for making the payments and the landlord can recover the rent due after the 3 month period.

The information and policies are continually being updated by the government, so I urge you to keep on top of the information by visiting the relevant website for your area.

UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
Wales: https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus
Northern Ireland: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/

I will be trying to keep myself as informed as possible and will share relevant information on my fb business page: https://www.facebook.com/ihelmenterprises/

I want to try and keep the information as clear and as simple as I possibly can for everyone, so I won’t be writing out everything again, I will just be writing out the highlights.

There were some pretty big announcements made last night, but we are still hoping the government will go even further in helping all businesses, no matter the size, right across the UK

1) Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme:

All UK employers will be able to access support to continue to pay part of their employees’ salaries for those who would otherwise have been laid off during this situation.

In order to claim the money, you will need to designate affected employees as “furloughed workers” and notify your employees of the change in their employment status (this remains subject to existing employment law, and depending on the contract, may be subject to negotiation) and submit the information to HMRC about those employees status and their earnings through a new online portal (the information required will be set out at a later date). HMRC will then reimburse the employer 80% of the employee’s salary, up to £2,500/month. This is being backdated to all employees who have been laid off since March 1st. The government has said this is currently for 3 months, but will be continuing to review this scheme and put it in place for longer if necessary. The existing payroll systems are not set up to facilitate this scheme but HMRC are working at getting a new system set up urgently.

2) Deferment of VAT and Income Tax Payments

VAT registered businesses will be able to defer their VAT payments for 3 months. The deferral will apply from 20 March 2020 to 30 June 2020. You don’t need to apply for this to happen – it will be done automatically, you just do not make a payment during this time period and you will be given until the end of the 2020 to 2021 tax year to pay any liabilities accumulated during the deferment period. All VAT refunds and reclaims will be paid by HMRC as normal.

All income tax self-assessment payments due on 31/07/2020 will be deferred until 31/01/2021. You do not need to apply for this to happen as it will be automatically granted. There won’t be any penalties or interest for late payments charged during the deferral period.

3) Cash grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses:

This scheme provides all businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property. For any business in this sector that has a rateable value of under £15,000, they will receive a grant of £10,000. Any business in this sector that has a rateable value of between £15,001 and £51,000, they will receive the full grant of £25,000.

In order to obtain this grant, your business must be based in England and be in the retail, hospitality and/or leisure sector. Your business must be a shop, restaurant, cafe, drinking establishment, cinema, live music venue, for assembly and leisure, or a hotel, guest and boarding premise and self-catering accommodation.

Your local authority will write to you automatically if you are eligible. The guidance for this scheme will be provided to the local authorities shortly.

4) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme:

The government has increased the turnover for a business to no more than £45 million per annum and they have increased the time limit for the finance interest free payments from 6 months to 12 months.

5) Support for businesses paying tax:

This scheme is now also open to all firms and individuals who are in temporary financial distress as a result of Covid-19 and have outstanding tax liabilities.

6) Support for the self-employed:

It has been announced that the government is increasing the standard allowance in Universal Credit and the basic element of Working Tax Credit by £20.00/week for 1 year from April 6, 2020. Universal credit will increase from £317.82/month to £409.89/month for a single claiming aged 25 or over.

The government is also increasing the Local Housing Allowance rate and it will apply to all private renters who already get Universal Credit housing element or are new to getting it, as well as to those who already get Housing Benefit.

For the self-employed who claim Universal Credit, you will not have to go to the jobcentre to prove you have gainful self-employment if you have to stay at home due to coronavirus, or are ill as a result of it.

The information and policies are continually being updated by the government, so I urge you to keep on top of the information by visiting the relevant website for your area.

UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/
Wales: https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus
Northern Ireland: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/

I will be trying to keep myself as informed as possible and will share relevant information on my fb business page: https://www.facebook.com/ihelmenterprises/