Support to save jobs and economy

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

■ Businesses can put employees on a period of furlough and apply for a government grant to cover 80 per cent of those workers’ usual monthly wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 a month.

Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS)

■ Eligible self-employed individuals can claim a taxable grant of 80 per cent of their average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months, and capped at £7,500 in total.

Statutory Sick Pay

■ The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme will repay employers the current rate of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) that they pay to current or former employees for periods of sickness starting on or after March 13, 2020.

VAT deferrals

■ If you’re a UK VAT-registered business and have a VAT payment due between March 20, 2020 and June 30, 2020, you have the option to either defer the payment until a later date, or pay the VAT due as normal.

Business rates holiday and eviction protection

■ The government has introduced a business rates holiday for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors and nurseries, meaning eligible properties in England will pay no business rates this year. This relief is worth almost £10 billion.

■ Commercial tenants who cannot pay their rent because of coronavirus will be protected from eviction.

Grants

■ The Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) provides businesses* with a £10,000 grant per property, for each of their properties which are in receipt of Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rates Relief.

■ The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF) provides businesses with grants of up to £25,000 per property, for each retail, hospitality or leisure property with a rateable value below £51,000. (*applicable only in England)

Loans

■ The government’s Bounce Back Loans Scheme provides loans of up to £50,000 to small businesses, with a 100 per cent governmentbacked guarantee for lenders. These loans will be provided interest free for the first 12 months.

■ The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme is available for loans or other forms of finance of up to £5 million.

■ The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) supports large businesses with an annual turnover of over £45 million per year to apply for up to £25 million of finance.