With The Government churning out updates as quickly as they can, we have the main highlights listed below:
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (FURLOUGH)
- All UK businesses will be eligible for this scheme
- If an employer cannot cover staff costs due to COVID-19, the business may be able to access Government support to assist in covering the cost of wages.
- The Government will cover 80% of an employee’s salary, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month.
- This is to avoid redundancies.
- The employer will keep the employee on their payroll, but send them home and crucially the employee must not undertake any further work for the employer.
- The employer can choose to fund the difference between the 80% Government contribution and the salary balance, but they do not have to.
- The 80% payment from the Government is currently set up to be accessed via a grant from the Government.
- The Government are in the process of setting up a new portal where this information can be relayed to HMRC. Unfortunately, further in-depth details about how this would work have not been provided.
- Dividends are not included within the collation of an employees’ salary and therefore are not subject to the 80% contribution.
- It is unclear at this point if single company directors will be able to access this funding, as they may be deemed to always be working for the company.
- There has been very little guidance on this type of employment and we hope the Government will clarify this soon.
- This scheme is initially intended to run for three months, from 1st March.
- The Government has stipulated that it will be extended, if required.
For further guidance; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-guidance-for-employees
Deferred VAT Payments
- All UK Businesses are eligible for this scheme
- The deferral will apple from 20th March 2020 until 30th June 2020
- This is an automatic deferral, with no further applications required.
- Businesses are not required to make any VAT payments during this period and instead, they will be given until 31st March 2021 to pay any VAT owed.
It should be noted that VAT reclaims will be paid out by HMRC as normal.
For those businesses on Direct Debit payments of VAT to HMRC, we would suggest cancelling the Direct Debit, as HMRC have not explicitly stated if they will cancel the call.
Deferred Self-Assessment Payments
- Any payments due by 31st July 2020 will be deferred to 31st January 2021.
- There will be no penalties or interest applied for payments deferred and no applications are required to defer the payment.
Help for Self Employed
Boris Johnson has announced today that a new measure will be set out by the Chancellor tomorrow. We will therefore update you as soon as we have had the opportunity to review this information.
We hope these new measures will provide relief and guidance for those of you who are self-employed.
Commercial Rent
The Government is passing a Coronavirus Bill through Parliament. One of the provisions is that commercial tenants should not be evicted if they are late with their rent for the next three months.
Grant Funding Scheme
For businesses renting commercial premises, and who are subject to small business rates relief the Government has published the following paper which should help clarify which businesses will be entitled to £10,000:
The government is continuously updating their advice page which we encourage all readers to study: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses
Finally, we remind all readers that our offices are now closed, with all staff working from home and accessible via email
As always, we wish you all stay safe and well during this period and we encourage readers to get in touch if they require advice from our friendly team.
