Chancellor announces 3 further support measures

Oct 22, 2020 | COVID-19

Coronavirus

We knew it was coming, we just didn’t know when. Following pressure on the Chancellor to go further to protect those businesses affected by the new alert system, whether closed or still trading, three new support measures have been announced. Here’s a round-up of what’s available.

New cash grants for Tier 2 businesses

New cash grants have been made available for businesses impacted by Tier 2 restrictions, but not legally required to close. It will be up to local authorities to decide how best to distribute these grants.

The Chancellor claims that the allocation will provide enough funding to give every business in hospitality, leisure and accommodation a grant worth up to £2,100 for every month that Tier 2 restrictions apply.

Affected businesses will be eligible to backdate their claims, so that those under enhanced restrictions can backdate their claim to August.

Updated Job Support Scheme

The Job Support Scheme has been updated for a third time, to provide additional cover for businesses across all three tiers that remain open but are experiencing lower demand.

To be eligible, employees will now only need to work a minimum 20% of their normal hours (instead of the original 33%) and will receive a pay packet of at least 73%. This will be made up as follows:

  • Employer contribution cut from 33% to 5% for hours not worked
  • Government to pay at least 62% for hours not worked
  • Employees to take home at least 73% of pay for working a new minimum 20% of hours

As announced earlier this month, businesses legally required to close for at least one week as a result of local lockdown will receive 67% of each of their employees’ pay, fully subsidised by the government, up to a maximum of £2,100 a month. For more information, see our earlier blog.

Increased self-employed contributions

The size of the grant available to self-employed people will also be doubled from £1,875 to £3,750 – with the amount of average profits they can claim for rising from 20% to 40%. Grants are available for all self-employed people, across all tiers, who have stopped trading or experienced a significant fall in trade. Two further payments are expected to follow.

How can we help?

If you have new business concerns following the latest updates, or would like help navigating the support you can access, contact your usual relationship practitioner, email intouch@haroldsharp.co.uk or call us on 0161 905 1616.