COVID-19 list of useful business resources
28 Apr 2020
A summary of the most useful links to information sources for protecting your business during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Over the past few weeks, members will have been receiving the regular BFPA COVID-19 Bulletins. One particular item in one of the more lengthy editions was the top ten useful links for managing your business during the crisis. Please find a summary below:
i) The Government have issued specific information for employers and businesses on providing advice on Coronavirus in their online guidance for employees, employers and businesses. To support businesses that remain open during this period in England, the Government has published additional guidance to assist employers, businesses and their staff in staying open safely during the outbreak. For specific settings please refer to the sector specific guidance.
ii) The Business Support website helps businesses find the right support, advice and information to help with the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the support measures that are available. This website will continue to be updated as information becomes available.
iii) Some aspects of business support are devolved and specific information for businesses in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland is also available. All the pages are being updated regularly as necessary. If you have a query that isn’t covered by the information provided, you can contact the Business Support Helpline on Tel. 0300 456 3565. This is a rapidly moving situation, and the Government’s guidance on coronavirus is being updated on a regular basis.
iv) During the 2020 Budget, the Chancellor announced details about a new Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme from 13th March 2020. This scheme allows small and medium sized employers with fewer than 250 employees, to apply to HMRC to recover the costs of paying Statutory Sick Pay to their employees from day 1 of sick leave. HMRC has published new online guidance which includes information about who can use the scheme and the records employers must keep. On the subject of HMRC remember that they are delivering a programme of webinars on the measures to support employers, people and self-employed individuals through this period of disruption. You can watch a video of the recorded webinar on the HMRC YouTube channel Coronavirus (COVID-19): helping employers to support employees. You can also register to attend a free webinar to learn more about the support available to help you deal with the economic impacts of coronavirus by registering here.
v) The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is open for applications. Employers can claim online for a grant for 80% of their furloughed employees’ salaries, up to a maximum of £2,500 per employee per month. Click here for further details and to make a claim. To receive payment by 30 April, applications should have been received by close of business on 22 April as it can take 6 working days from making an application to receive the money. Please keep a note or print-out of claim reference numbers as you won’t receive a confirmation SMS or email. HMRC have produced this step by step guidance on how to make a claim. There is also a calculator to help you work out your claim.
vi) The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have created a Coronavirus Business Support Blog to help business get the support they need to help with the impact of coronavirus. This blog contains additional information and resources, including:
Case studies from businesses who have or will be accessing government support
• Posts from different people across government and business
vii) For all the latest up to date government guidance on coronavirus support for businesses, please visit the coronavirus pages on GOV.UK.
viii) The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is open for applications. It has now been extended so trade associations like the BFPA can now apply! Click here for more information on this. The new Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) is also open for applications. More information on accessing this can be found here.
ix) The Government has also issued guidance for the public on mental health and well-being during the coronavirus outbreak and this can be found here.
If you have any questions around apprenticeships, then further information is available here.
x) If you are all now working from home and your premises are vacated for the foreseeable future, there may be some implications for your insurance policies. There may also be some implications on your cover for valuable IT equipment if it is no longer kept on your premises. The ABI have published some insurance guidance for businesses here, but do check your policies or speak to your insurance provider to ensure you are fully covered.
The British Chambers of Commerce have a Coronavirus Support Hub here.
xi) Employers can join free ACAS webinars related to Coronavirus which will provide advice for employers to help manage the impact of coronavirus in the workplace. They include:-
steps that can help reduce the spread of the virus
• effective ways of communicating with employees
• self-isolating, time off, sickness certification and sick pay
• altering working hours, shift patterns and working arrangements
• remote working and the use of technology
Businesses can find out more and register to attend them here.
xii) A new fast-track lending scheme for small firms was announced on 27.4.20. It is called the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. Small firms will be able to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 and have access to the cash within days. The loans will be interest-free for the first 12 months and the government says it will work with lenders to ensure loans through the BBLS have a standardised low level of interest for any remaining period of the loan. The scheme goes live for online applications on May 4th, using what has been described as a “short and simple” form.
The announcement by chancellor Rishi Sunak comes after growing frustration over delays and refusals from many banks taking part in the CBILS (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme). To this extent, the new scheme is a kind of ‘son of CBILS! A key difference between the two is that the government is taking 100% of the risk of the loans under BBLS, where it took only 80% of the risk under CBILS. This will mean that the banks, through which the loans will be administered, cannot use the excuse that they have to undertake due diligence over the 20% risk that they were being asked to carry under CIBLS. Payments should therefore be much faster.
This is indeed good news for BFPA / BFPDA members although I would like to see more detail around the process and what is deemed to be a ‘small business.’ For accounting purposes Companies House defines a small business as employing less than 50 people and a turnover under £6.5 million. I have yet to see any explicit statement that says that the BBLS will follow this definition.
Chris Buxton
BFPA CEO