News

COVID-19: Government Measures to Assist Small Business Experiencing Financial Hardship
13 March 2020

We’ve had a several enquiries messages from clients who wanted to know what Government measures are being put in place in light of the COVID-19 outbreak to assist small business experiencing financial hardship…we are as always please to discuss this in detail however the measures in outline follow:

A link to the Government document detailing the measures can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19

Please have a read however the main measures are:

• The ability to reclaim two weeks of SSP relating to a period of employee absence
• Business rates ‘retail or pubs discount’ of 100% for relevant businesses with rateable value below £51,000
• Guaranteed ‘Business Interruption’ loans from the British Business Bank, apparently launching soon…they will need to be quick!
• Support with tax debt via HMRC’s ‘Time To Pay’ service (apparently a further 2000 call handlers have been brought in). Call 0800 0159 559

As a practice, we continue to monitor the general situation and advice to the business as well as the position internally.

In the same way, as all business is adapting, we are keeping the prospect of home-working open for our team and as such, email may be the preferred medium for clients to use in the immediate future rather than telephone. It may also be necessary or indeed responsible to have meetings via telephone or video link rather than in-person during the next phase.

As always, if you have any questions, do let us know - Contact Us