Finally, today two of the biggest issues were addressed.
Firstly came the inevitable news that pubs, bars and restaurants are to be forced to close immediately, take out services are still allowed. It’s a shame they didn’t plug him in, he probably could have generated enough energy to power a small town with all that back-peddling.
Of course, it is largely pointless as most venues have already taken the decision to shut their doors, but at least for those lucky enough to have the ability to claim insurance this is now an option.
Employees Financial Support
The bigger news was financial support for employees. Broken down into different categories:
Employed – If you are lucky enough to still have a job the government have introduced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for those employed but not working. Your employer will have to contact HMRC to receive the money which will be 80% of your wage up to a maximum of £2,500 a month, this will be backdated to March 1st and last for at least 3 months. This will take a little bit of time to kick-in but they are planning on getting the first money out in the next few weeks and all out by the end of April.
Unemployed – If you have already lost your job the news isn’t quite as good. Universal Credit has been increased by £1,000 a year.
Self-Employed – For those that fall into this category you will be able to apply for Universal Credit and next self-assessment payments deferred to Jan 2021.
Zero Hours – Not as clear but the suggestion is if you are PAYE you might be okay. More info to follow and we will update ASAP.
This is great news for those with jobs but much less useful for those who have already fallen foul of the situation. Our guess is that more news for those people as well as self-employed and zero hours will follow in the coming days. We will keep an eye on it.
Business Loans
For those that want to go the route of the ‘Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme’ it has been announced that this will be going live on Monday 23rd March. Reminder that these are the loans that will need to be paid back, not the Business Grants information on how to get hold of these is still pending. Interest free for 12 months.
With them going live and the wages money not coming in maybe a loan is an option if the banks are not helping out which hopefully they will be. At least you now know it’s coming.
No businesses to pay VAT until the end of June.
This still isn’t the full package and still the biggest problem is actually getting hold of this money that keeps being promised. No doubt there will be follow on news in the coming hours and we will keep you updated.
This story is correct as of March 20th.
If you have any areas you would like BarLifeUK to look into regarding coronavirus that you don’t see covered in the coronavirus section https://www.barlifeuk.com/index.php/category/covid19/ please email simon@barlifeuk.com and we will try to find an expert to answer them and get back to you.