COVID-19 Business Support

Issued 06/05/20

 

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES

 

If you are considering letting staff go, please read the following information:

 

  • For the first time in history, the UK government is going to step in and help pay people’s wages – paying grants to support as many jobs as necessary. 

 

  • Grants will be paid to any employers who retain their staff. Any employer in the country – large, small, charitable or for profit – who promises to retain their staff, will be able to apply for a grant from HMRC to cover most of the wages of people who are not working but are kept on payroll, rather than being laid off.

 

  • Employees who were on the payroll on 19 March or earlier are eligible. The UK Government has extended the cut off period for those eligible for support.

 

  • Grants will cover 80 per cent of the salary of retained workers up to a total of £2,500 a month – which is above the average income. The cost of wages will be backdated to 1 March and will be open initially for at least three months – and the UK Government will extend the scheme for longer if necessary.

 

  • Employers will be free to top up the remaining 20 per cent, but this is not mandatory.

 

  • There will be no limit on the number or total value of grants paid out.

 

  • The UK Government will also cover the cost of National Insurance and pension contributions. Employer contributions for furloughed staff will be paid by the UK Government on top of 80 per cent of salary costs. This could save businesses an extra £300 a month for each employee under the scheme.

 

  • HMRC have worked day and night to get the scheme up and running, and it is now open for applications from employers.

 

 

 

Your business will not pay VAT until the end of June:

 

  • The UK Government have announced that VAT for April, May and June will be deferred, and businesses will have until the end of the financial year to repay those bills.

 

 

Your business may be entitled to reclaim the costs of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for sickness absence:

 

  • This refund will cover up to two weeks’ SSP per eligible employee who are either ill or been told to self-isolate because of COVID-19. This is in line with the recommended isolation period. Guidance on self-isolation can be found here: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19.

 

  • Employers with fewer than 250 employees will be eligible. The size of an employer will be determined by the number of people they employed as of 28 February 2020.

 

  • Employers will be able to reclaim expenditure for any employee who has claimed SSP (according to the new eligibility criteria) as a result of COVID-19.

 

  • Employers should maintain records of staff absences, but employees will not need to provide a GP fit note.

 

  • The UK Government will work with employers over the coming months to set up the repayment mechanism for employers as soon as possible. Existing systems are not designed to facilitate employer refunds for SSP.

 

  • The eligible period for the scheme began on 13 March.

 

 

Your business may be eligible for rates relief and grants:

 

  • If your business occupies a property in the retail, hospitality, tourism or aviation sectors you will be eligible for a 100 per cent discount on your rates bill for 1 year from 1 April 2020. This will cover a range of businesses, including restaurants, bars, pubs, cafes, shops, cinemas, bingo halls and letting agents. This discount will also cover airports and aviation businesses that are based as airports. Relief will be granted regardless of the rateable value of the property. The property must be occupied in order to be eligible.

 

  • Your business will be eligible for a 1.6 per cent relief regardless of rateable value. This measure effectively freezes the poundage rate for the coming year. This will not need to be applied for – it will automatically be applied to your bill.

 

  • You will be eligible for these reliefs even if you are already in receipt of another form of relief.

 

  • You may be eligible for a grant of up to £25,000 if your business is in the hospitality, leisure and retail sector and occupies a property with a rateable value of between £18,001 and £51,000. If your business occupies more than one property, you may be eligible for a further grant of up to £18,750 for each additional property.

 

  • You may be eligible for a grant of up to £10,000 if your business is eligible for the Small Business Bonus Scheme or Rural Rate Relief.  If your business occupies more than one property, you may be eligible for a further grant of up to £7,500 for each additional property.

 

  • You should now be able to apply for reliefs and grants via your local authority. The Scottish Government have said they are working urgently with Scotland’s 32 local authorities to ensure these reliefs are administered in the most effective way. Information on how to apply is available at: https://www.mygov.scot/non-domestic-rates-coronavirus/.

 

 

If your business is not eligible for the grants above, please read the following information:

 

 

 

  • Grants have been promised by the Scottish Government to support micro-businesses operating without premises.  Further details are not yet available.

 

 

 

If you own a small or medium-sized business that is facing cash flow issues, please read the following information:

 

 

  • These new loans will be interest free for the first 12 months and backed 100 per cent by the UK Government. No repayments will be due in the first 12 months and the UK Government will pay any fees incurred. The loan term will be up to 6 years.

 

  • The UK Government is working with lenders to ensure that approved loans are paid out within days so that immediate support is available for those that need it the most.

 

  • You will be eligible to apply if your business is UK based, has been negatively affected by the virus and was not an ‘undertaking in difficulty’ on 31 December 2019.

 

  • You will be ineligible for these loans if your business operates as a bank, insurer or reinsurer (but not insurance brokers), a public body or a state-funded school.

 

  • You will not be able to apply if you are already claiming funding through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). However if you already have a loan with a lender under CBILS terms, you will be able to transfer it to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

 

 

  • The scheme is working to provide funding for business through term loans, overdrafts, asset finance and invoice finance.

 

  • The UK Government is providing lenders with a guarantee of 80 per cent on each loan to give them greater confidence in providing loans to small and medium sized businesses.

 

  • If you obtain a loan as part of this scheme, you will not be charged for this guarantee and nor will your lender.

 

  • You will be able to apply for loans worth up to £5 million, from over 40 lenders, interest free for the first twelve months as the UK Government will be covering the cost of the repayments.

 

  • All viable small businesses will now be able to access the scheme, not just those unable to secure regular commercial financing.

 

  • The UK Government is stopping lenders from requesting personal guarantees for loans under £250,000 and is working urgently to speed up the application and approval process.

 

  • You should approach your own lender via their website in the first instance to see if you are eligible for funding, before approaching other lenders.

 

 

 

 

If you own a large business that is facing cash flow issues, please read the following information:

 

  • The UK Government has set up the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) to provide loans of up to £50 million, largely guaranteed by the state.

 

  • CLBILS loans will provide a government guarantee of 80 per cent on loans of up to £25 million for firms with an annual turnover of between £45 million and £250 million.

 

  • CLBILS loans will provide a government guarantee of 80 per cent on loans of up to £50 million for firms with an annual turnover that’s greater than £250 million.

 

  • Loans backed by a guarantee under CLBILS will be offered at commercial rates of interest.

 

 

  • Companies commonly sell short term debt, known as ‘commercial paper’, to the market. This is a quick and cost-effective way to raise working capital. The UK Government is working with the Bank of England to set up a new Corporate Financing Facility, that will allow the Bank to buy short term debt from companies.

 

  • This will support companies which are fundamentally strong, but have been affected by a short-term funding squeeze, enabling them to continue financing their short-term liabilities. It will also support corporate finance markets overall and ease the supply of credit to all firms.

 

 

 

If you are concerned about facing insolvency, please read the following information:

 

 

  • Scotland’s insolvency service, Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), has suspended sale and eviction from property in ongoing bankruptcy administrations until further notice.

 

  • The evidential requirements for individuals seeking debt relief through bankruptcy have been amended to allow faster access, providing protection from debt enforcement.

 

  • AiB is reducing the need for face to face contact, allowing access to debt relief to be maintained by accepting electronic signatures on protected trust deeds and other documentation.

 

  • If you have an ongoing debt payment plan but are worried about how you will be able to pay, AiB will not be revoking these programmes.

 

 

 

If you are concerned about water fees, please read the following information:

 

  • A package worth £60 million has been agreed with water companies to help businesses that are facing difficulties with their water charges.

 

  • Scottish Water has agreed to suspend pre-payment charges for licensed providers for two months, beginning with the April payment. This means water suppliers can now be flexible with their customers.

 

  • The Central Market Authority (CMA) has also agreed to suspend all ‘performance standard charges’ to allow licensed providers to focus on supporting customers.

 

 

If you are a business owner, or are self-employed and you are concerned about your tax bill, you may be eligible for support through HMRC’s Time to Pay service:

 

  • HMRC may agree, on a case by case basis, to assist with your business’ tax bill through the Time to Pay Service.

 

  • These arrangements are tailor made and based on individual circumstances and liabilities.

 

 

 

If you operate a research-focussed SME or a high growth company, please read the following information:

 

  • The UK Government has launched a £1.25 billion fund to support the most innovative businesses in the country.

 

  • If your company has been impacted by the crisis you may be able to access grants or loans. The £500 million Future Fund has been designed to ensure high-growth companies across the UK receive the investment they need to continue during the crisis.

 

  • Delivered in partnership with the British Business Bank and launching in May, the fund will provide UK-based companies with between £125,000 and £5 million from the UK Government, with private sector investors at least matching that investment.

 

  • To be eligible, a business must be an unlisted UK registered company that has previously raised at least £250,000 in equity investment from third party investors in the last five years.

 

  • The UK Government is working with Innovate UK to provide £750 million of targeted support for the most R&D intensive small and medium size firms.

 

  • Innovate UK will accelerate up to £200 million of grant and loan payments for its 2,500 existing customers. An extra £550 million will also be made available to increase support for existing customers and £175,000 of support will be offered to around 1,200 firms not currently in receipt of Innovate UK funding. 

 

 

 

If your business is in the fishing industry, please read the following information:

 

  • Over £5 million in financial support has been designated for the Scottish fishing industry. Funding has been offered to over 650 seafood fishing companies to help with the collapse of export and hospitality markets for Scottish delicacies like langoustine, prawns and crab.

 

  • You will be able to access a grant if you are the owner of full time Scottish registered fishing vessel of up to 12 metres length. The initial payment will be 50 per cent of two months’ average earnings.

 

  • Full time registered vessels are defined by the scheme as a vessel which has recorded landings of £20,000 or more, and earnings are defined as recorded landing income from 2019 sales notes which were submitted to Marine Scotland by buyers.

 

  • The Scottish Government have said further support is being developed for the onshore processing industry, as well as companies in the shellfish growing sector.

 

  • Marine Scotland will be writing to all vessels and relevant representative Associations with more details. Queries can be emailed to seafisheriesintervention@gov.scot.

 

  • If your business operates full time in shellfish growing or trout farming you may be eligible for a grant of up to £27,000. Grant payments will cover two months and be equivalent to 50 per cent of the average monthly gross revenue from sales of aquaculture products in 2019 of each business. To apply for a grant, shellfish and trout businesses are required to demonstrate that the business operates on a full time basis and has suffered severe hardship as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. Payments will be made directly to eligible shellfish growers and trout farmers as soon as possible.

 

 

If your business is a seafood processor, please read the following information:

 

  • The ‘Scottish Seafood Business Resilience Fund’ has been launched. The fund will provide a combination of grants and loans to businesses suffering severe hardship following the shutdown of international markets and the food service industry across the UK.

 

  • Shellfish and seafood processing businesses will receive immediate priority for consideration.

 

 

 

 

OTHER INFORMATION FOR BUSINESSES

 

If your business wishes to help the government tackle COVID-19, please read the following information:

 

  • Businesses, third sector or voluntary organisations who wish to offer support should email the Scottish Government at covid19response@gov.scot with details such as your organisation’s key contact and their role, what you are offering and how it might be best applied, how quickly your support could be available and whether you are offering this as a donation or a chargeable service.

 

 

If you are unsure whether your business should close, please read the following information:

 

 

 

  • The Scottish Government say they are urgently developing a central government resource to provide advice and direction to businesses in exceptional, nuanced or difficult cases.

 

 

If you own a restaurant or a pub that serves food, you may be able to operate a hot food takeaway without the usual planning process:

 

  • The Scottish Chief Planner has made clear that planning authorities should not restrict pubs or restaurants operating a takeaway service temporarily.

 

  • These measures will be reviewed after three months.

 

 

 

If you are concerned about competition regulation, please read the following:

 

 

 

If you are concerned about off-payroll working rules (IR35), you should read the following information:

 

  • The UK Government announced on 17 March that the reform to the off-payroll working rules, known as IR35, that would have applied for people contracting their services to large or medium-sized organisations outside the public sector, will be delayed for one year from 6 April 2020 until 6 April 2021.

 

  • You, as a business or an individual, do not need to take any action.

 

 

If you are concerned about the impact of the deposit return scheme or tourist tax on your business, you should read the following information:

 

  • The go-live date for the deposit return scheme has been delayed until July 2022 to ensure that businesses are not burdened with this policy during a time of crisis.

 

  • The legislation to introduce the Transient Visitor Levy (‘tourist tax’) has been halted.

 

 

If you are unsure whether your business can make a claim on business interruption insurance, you should read the following information:

 

  • The UK and Scottish Government’s medical advice of 16 March is sufficient to enable those businesses which have an insurance policy that covers both pandemics and government ordered closure to make a claim – provided all other terms and conditions in their policy are met. Businesses should check the terms and conditions of their specific policy carefully and contact their providers if in doubt.

 

  • However, most businesses have not purchased insurance that covers pandemic related losses. This means they cannot claim regardless of whether government orders businesses to close. As such they should make use of the government support available to them.

 

 

If you are concerned about filing your accounts with Companies House, please read the following information:

 

  • From 25 March 2020, businesses will be able to apply for a 3 month extension for filing their accounts. Those citing issues around COVI-19 will be immediately granted this extension, thereby avoiding an automatic penalty for late accounts.

 

 

If your business trades internationally, please read the following information: