Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Guidance for business owners
Small Business Rate Relief
Your business can receive Small Business Rate Relief if your business only uses one property and this has a rateable value of less than £15,000. Should you have more than one property there are other ways to access rate relief detailed below. ...
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS)
This scheme has been announced to support those who are self-employed (or in partnerships) and whose income has been restricted by the effects of the coronavirus. This scheme enables you to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of your trading profits...
Business insurance
Businesses that have cover for both pandemics and government-ordered closure should be covered. The insurance industry confirmed on 17 March 2020 that advice to avoid pubs, theatres and other venues is sufficient to make a claim as long as all other...
Business support through the Time to Pay service
Any businesses and self-employed person paying tax to the UK government that falls into financial difficulties that are compounded by outstanding tax liabilities, may be eligible to receive support with their tax affairs through HMRC’s Time to Pay...
Support for larger firms through the Corporate Financing Facility
The Corporate Financing Facility has been set up by the Bank of England to buy short-term debt from larger companies. This will support your business if it has been affected by a short-term funding squeeze. It aims to allow you to finance your sh...
Support for businesses that pay little or no business rates
The government has announced that it will provide additional Small Business Grant funding for local authorities. This is earmarked to support small businesses that already pay little or no business rates (thanks to qualifying for Small Business Rate...
Support for retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses
There are two major initiatives that are specific to sectors particularly affected by the impact of the coronavirus. These are a grant scheme and business rate holidays. The Retail and Hospitality Grant Scheme Under this scheme businesses in ...
Support for covering employees’ sick pay
Legislation has been rushed through that allows SMEs to reclaim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) that is paid for absences caused by the coronavirus. Eligibility for the scheme is as follows: The refund covers up to two weeks’ SSP for each employee ...
Deferring payments for VAT and income tax
To help support businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, the government has allowed businesses to defer Valued Added Tax (VAT) payments for three months. Similarly, if you are self-employed, your income tax payment that is due in July 2020 ca...
Job retention scheme
The Job Retention Scheme has been introduced to enable all employers to access financial support to prevent employees losing their salaried positions during the disruption to business caused by the coronavirus. The scheme seeks to answer one of t...
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is a temporary measure introduced to support SMEs by ensuring they can access loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance of up to £5 million for up to 6 years. The government ha...
Relief measures and support for your business
The disruption that businesses are experiencing due to the impact of coronavirus – and restrictive action taken to limit its spread – has been met by a series of relief measures and support announced by the government. To help you understand ...