Latest updates on COVID-19 – June 2020
Coronavirus has had a monumental impact not only on our health and social lives but on the economy – it is a stressful time for large and small businesses alike. This page will provide the latest updates relevant to the needs of your business
What the easing of lockdown means for your business
- With the easing of lockdown in England, this is a stressful time with a lot of questions around what trading, and cash flow may look like, whether government support is still available, and how to best support your employees.
- The easing of lockdown is taking place in stages, with all non-essential shops re-opening from June 15th and other businesses gradually following.
- The government has posted guidance on creating and working in a safe environment which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19
- A breadth of financial support is still available and can be found here https://www.sage.com/en-gb/blog/coronavirus-financial-support-business/
What the self-employment income support scheme (SEISS) looks like
- In order to claim, you need to meet the criteria of being a self-employed individual or member of a partnership (within eligibility criteria).
- The eligibility criteria includes the taxpayer having submitted their self-assessment tax return for the tax year 2018/19 by 23 April and traded in the tax year 2019/20 with intent to continue to trade into the tax year 2020/21. Furthermore, they must carry a trade which has been unfavourably affected by coronavirus.
- The scheme covers businesses affected up to the 13th of July, after this date a second grant is available to businesses still affected.
- Applications for the first grant will close of the 13th of July, applications for the second grant open in August.
- The claim must be made by the taxpayer themselves, not by agents.
- HMRC carries out the calculations for the claims, with the grants being subject to income tax and self-employment national insurance subsidies
How the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS V1) is changing
- From July 1st, the scheme is changing, it will now only be available to employers that used the initial scheme, CJRS V1, which began on March 1st, and employees who had been furloughed.
- With the changes, employees can be furloughed with flexibility, with part-time working being encouraged – there is no minimum furlough period.
- The claim is now more specific, with a requirement of details of usual hours worked based on calendar days.
- Now, no claim period can extend across the end of the calendar month.
- The final date for claiming CJRS V2 is the 30th of November and the grant calculations will now change each calendar month