Wow what a difference a few days make! It is difficult to keep up with changes as they are happening so fast. The Job Support Scheme (JSS) is coming in…. then it isn’t! The Job Retention Bonus will no longer be paid in February 2021. Self employed are getting 40%, no 55%, no actually it is now 80%!
SEISS
Thankfully, it has been announced that the self employed will be able to claim 80% based on average profits, for the entire 3 month period from November to January. It will be paid in one lump sum capped at £7,500. The facility to claim will start on the 30 November on a phased basis. Payments expected to be made within 6 working days of making the claim.
Extension of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)
So accountants were poised to advise clients on the JSS scheme, which should have commenced on 1 November, when Boris Johnson announced on a Saturday that he was instead extending the CJRS.
Since then they have said they will extend it until 31 March 2021. 80% of salary will be paid till 31 January and then the position will be revisited. Employers will have to pay Employer’s NIC and pension contributions. Policy paper is in the link below.
Further guidance on this should be out next week and we shall provide that information.
Job Retention Bonus (JRB)
So many employers were hoping to be able to claim the JRB in February 2021 for retaining their staff. However as the CJRS is now extended to 31 March 2021 the purpose of the bonus apparently no longer applies.
We are told that a retention incentive will be proposed at an appropriate time . We do not know if that will be along the same lines as the JRB or not.
Cash grants for businesses with rateable premises that have been required to close
There will be cash grants of up to £3,000 per month for businesses with rateable business premises that are forced to close.
If you had to close under Tier 3 lockdown you should be able to make a claim for the period to 4th November from your local authority and it would appear that those facilities are now open.
The facility to claim for current national lockdown closure is not yet available. We will update this when we know more about how to claim for the national lockdown. You will only be able to claim if you are required to shut. Please see attached link for details of businesses that are required to close under the national lockdown.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november#businesses-and-venues
Other Funding Available
- £1.1bn to local authorities, distributed on the basis of £20 per head, for one-off payments to enable them to support businesses more broadly
- plans to extend existing government-backed loan schemes and the Future Fund to the end of January, and an ability to top-up Bounce Back Loans
- an extension to the mortgage payment holiday for homeowners
- up to £500m of funding for councils to support the local public health response.
The extension of the CJRS, SEISS grants, loans and mortgage holidays are all UK-wide, the government also confirmed.