Further to the national lockdown being announced, the Prime Minister has provided additional financial support as part of the government’s plan to assist business in this next phase of the coronavirus outbreak.

Throughout the crisis the government’s priority has been to protect lives and livelihoods. The Prime Minister has extended the Job Retention Scheme, also known as the Furlough Scheme. This will remain open until December, with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for the hours not worked, up to the maximum of £2,500. Under the extended scheme, the cost of employers of retaining workers will be reduced compared to the current scheme that ended on 31 October.

In addition, business premises forced to close in England are to receive grants worth up to £3,000 per month under the Local Restrictions Support Grant. Also, £1.1 billion 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.

To provide homeowners peace of mind too, mortgage holidays will also no longer end at the end of October.

JOB RETENTION SCHEME

Employers small or large, charitable or non-profit, are eligible for the extended Job Retention Scheme, which will continue for a further month.

Businesses will have flexibility to bring furloughed employees back to work on a part time basis or furlough full-time, and will only be asked to cover National insurance and employers pension contributions. For the average claim, this accounts for just 5% of the total employment costs.

The new scheme due to replace the Job Retention Scheme, the Job Support Scheme will be postponed until the furlough scheme ends.

Additional detailed guidance will follow shortly.

MORTGAGE HOLIDAYS

Mortgage payment holidays will no longer end on the 31 October. Borrowers that have been impacted by coronavirus and have not yet had a mortgage payment holiday will be entitled to a six month holiday, and those that have already started a mortgage payment holiday will be able to top up to six months without this being recorded on their credit file.

BUSINESS GRANTS

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

• For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants will be £1,334 per month , or £667 per two weeks
• For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants will be £2,000 per month, or £1,000 per two weeks
• For properties with a rateable value of £51k or over, the grant will be £3,000 per month, or £1,500 per two weeks

ADDITIONAL MATTERS WE KNOW REGARDING THE NEW JOB RENTENTON SCHEME

Flexible furlough will be allowed in addition to full-time furloughing.

We are not yet aware of when the first claims or portal will be open to make claims. This is a problem for weekly paid staff.

All employers with a UK bank account and a UK PAYE scheme can claim the grant. Neither the employer or the employee needs to have previously used the old scheme.

For the employees to be eligible, they must have been on employers PAYE payroll by 23.59 on the 30 October 2020. This means a Real Time Information (RTI) submission notifying payment for that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 30 October 2020.

The detailed guidance on all matters above will follow. As soon as this is announced we will try and get this summarised for you.

As always, if you want further guidance or support call or email the Spirare Team.