Date posted:
Wed 25 March 2020
Liam from Foursquare and The Bread and Butter Co. has compiled a list of Government Schemes that may be useful to you as an independent business within the Hospitality and Retail sector.
*Please note this is his interpretation of the support available, shared with you to try and help, you should do your own research into the schemes you want access to*
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme –
Overseen by HMRC. - 80% of employment costs for employees deemed 'furloughed' will be covered by the Government
This is up to a cap of £2,500 per month per employee. - 'Furloughed' employees are not supposed to undertake any work for the employer during this time - Employer should retain the employee and pay as usual through normal PAYE channels - Employers can choose to fund the difference between the 80% and full employment costs but don't have to - Initially the scheme will run for three months from 1st March 2020 and may extend beyond the initial three months if required
- Employers can backdate to 1st March 2020
- You need to write to your employees who will be classed as furloughed informing them of their status and the date they became furloughed
- HMRC are setting up an online portal to register employees as furloughed, hopefully ready towards mid-end April
- Be prepared that cash reimbursements may not be ready until May/June.
Employers should access business interruption loans in the meantime for cash flow assistance.
Deferral of VAT
- Payments for the coming three months do not have to be made. HMRC will try to catch up with payments by the end of the financial year. The VAT will have to be paid later, it's not a free period.
CBILS (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme) –
- The government has confirmed that it will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs
My understanding is that the loans will be guaranteed personally as a pre-cursor to the Government guarantee - Available to UK-based businesses with annual turnover of up to £45m per year - 40+ accredited lenders. Speak to your own lender or bank in the first instance - No fees or interest 12 months. - No guarantee fee for SMEs to access the scheme. - At the discretion of the lender, the scheme may be used for unsecured lending for facilities of £250,000 and under - Finance terms are up to six years for term loans and asset finance facilities. For overdrafts and invoice finance facilities, terms will be up to three years.
Find out more about the Government schemes here.