COVID 19 (Coronavirus) Support for Businesses in Neath Constituency (31 March 2020) - nptcvs

COVID 19 (Coronavirus)
          Support for Businesses in Neath Constituency
                                 (31 March 2020)

Coronavirus advice
Any business affected can get practical advice on coronavirus related support, whether
provided by the Welsh Government, the UK Government or elsewhere via the
Business Wales telephone helpline on 0300 060 3000
(https://businesswales.gov.wales/coronavirus-advice)

You might also find this Welsh Government advice and guidance helpful:
https://gov.wales/business-and-employers-coronavirus (UK Government advice
webpages refer generally to schemes in England but where schemes relate to Welsh
business as well, they are linked to below).

Finally, if you would like to receive updates from Neath Port Talbot Council on support
for business, you can sign up by emailing: Business@npt.gov.uk The Council also has
a dedicated Covid19 page https://www.npt.gov.uk/22404 with a tab for business.

If you have any difficulties getting the support and signposting you need, please get
back in touch with my office via jeremy.miles@assembly.wales or 01792 869993.

Business closure
The Welsh Government has made regulations requiring the closure of businesses in
various sectors. Details of those closures are here: https://gov.wales/coronavirus-covid-
19-closure-businesses-and-premises-0

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
The UK Government will cover up to 80% of employees’ wages for employees that
would otherwise be laid off, up to a maximum of £2,500 a month per employee as a
grant. You will need to pay your “furloughed” employees at the rate you claim. This
wage support will last for at least 3 months. This can be backdated and apply to
employees who were on payroll as of 28 February, even if they have since been let go.
Employers will need to:
   •   designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers,’ and notify your
       employees of this change
   •   submit information to HMRC about the employees that have been furloughed and
       their earnings through a new online portal (when it’s launched) including:
          o ePAYE reference number
          o number of employees being furloughed
          o claim period start and end date
          o amount claimed (minimum three weeks)
          o bank account number and sort code
          o contact name and phone number
This scheme applies to full time, part time, agency and zero hours employees. Where
employees are on sick leave or self-isolating due to COVID-19, Statutory Sick Pay
(SSP) is payable for that period, but they can be furloughed after this point. For
anybody made redundant after 28 February 2020, their employer can agree to re-
employ them and instead place them on furlough. Employees on unpaid leave cannot
be furloughed, unless they were placed on unpaid leave after 28 February 2020.
Where individuals have been employed for a full year, their monthly earnings will be the
higher of either:
   •   the amount earned in the same month the previous year
   •   the average of the monthly earnings from the last year
For those in employment for less than a year, employers will claim the average of the
monthly earnings they’ve received since they started work.
Employees who have been furloughed retain the same employment rights, such as
entitlement to SSP, maternity rights, other parental rights, redundancy payments and
protection against unfair dismissal.
HMRC will administer the scheme which is currently being put in place. Details are here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-
retention-scheme

Payments received by businesses under the scheme must be included as income in the
business’s calculation of its taxable profits for Income Tax and Corporation Tax
purposes, in accordance with normal principles. Businesses can deduct employment
costs as usual when calculating taxable profits for those same purposes.
Employers needing short term cash flow support to meet payroll costs in the meantime,
may be eligible for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan (see below) which are now
available or loans from Development Bank for Wales (see below).

Welsh Government Grants
The Welsh Government has announced a grants scheme for Welsh businesses hit by
coronavirus.
A £25,000 grant for businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, with a rateable
value of £12,001 - £51,000.
A £10,000 grant to all businesses eligible for small business rates relief with a rateable
value of £12,000 or less.
Payment arrangements will be automatic and eligible business should already have
received notification of the £10,000 grant from Neath Port Talbot Council with
notification of the eligibility for the larger grant following soon.
This week, the Welsh Government has announced a further grant scheme which will
become available in April. There will be eligibility criteria for businesses wanting to
apply, but it is also open to social enterprises and charities.
Grants of £10,000 will be available to businesses with 9 or fewer employees, and grants
of £100,000 to businesses of 10-250 employees. There will be a separate scheme for
larger businesses.
The focus is on supporting business through a period of hibernation or to adjust to
remote working.

VAT deferral
UK Government has announced that VAT payments for the next quarter (Apr-Jun) will
be deferred, to be paid by the end of the year.

Business rates relief

The Welsh Government has announced that:
   •   all retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 or
       less will receive 100% business rates relief in 2020-2021
   •   pubs with a rateable value of between £51,000 and £100,000 will receive a
       £5,000 reduction on their bill in 2020-2021.

HMRC – Time to Pay Scheme
A Time to Pay scheme is also available whereby all businesses and self-employed
people in financial distress and with outstanding tax liabilities may be eligible to receive
support with their tax affairs through HMRC’s Time to Pay service.
These arrangements are agreed on a case-by-case basis and are tailored to individual
circumstances and liabilities.
If you are concerned about being able to pay your tax due to COVID-19, call 0800 0159
559.

Statutory sick pay
Small and medium sized businesses and employers across the UK will be able to
reclaim statutory sick pay paid for sickness absence due to COVID-19.
   •   This refund will cover up to 2 weeks’ SSP per eligible employee who has been off
       work because of COVID-19, through self-isolation or household isolation
   •   Employers with fewer than 250 employees will be eligible - the size of an
       employer will be determined by the number of people they employed as of 28
       February 2020
   •   Employers will be able to reclaim expenditure for any employee who has claimed
       SSP (according to the new eligibility criteria) as a result of COVID-19
   •   Employers should maintain records of staff absences and payments of SSP, but
       employees will not need to provide a GP fit note
   •   Eligible period for the scheme will commence the day after the regulations on the
       extension of Statutory Sick Pay to those staying at home comes into force

Development Bank of Wales
The bank has equity and loan funding it can make available immediately to otherwise
healthy small businesses to help them through the cash flow and other challenges they
may face.
The Bank is also now administering the new Welsh Government loan scheme
announced this week, which is immediately available, offering low interest loans of £5-
250,000 to businesses to help with cashflow difficulties.
Please contact: 0800 587 4140 or
https://developmentbank.wales/coronavirus-support-welsh-businesses
The Welsh Government has announced that all businesses already supported by
Development Bank of Wales will have a three-month capital repayment holiday.

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans
The UK Government has set up a temporary coronavirus business interruption loan
scheme through the British Business Bank and it will support businesses to access
bank lending and overdrafts. Loans are interest free for 12 months.
Lenders will be provided with a guarantee of 80% on each loan (subject to a per-lender
cap on claims) to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to
SMEs.
Businesses and banks will not be charged for this guarantee, and the Scheme will
support loans of up to £1.2 million in value.
The loans are now available and there is a list of British Business Bank-accredited
lenders here: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-
business-interruption-loan-scheme-cbils/accredited-lenders/

Self-employed and freelancers
A new Self-employment Income Support Scheme was announced by the Chancellor
on 26 March. Details are here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-
coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme
This scheme will allow you to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of your trading profits up
to a maximum of £2,500 per month for the next 3 months. This may be extended if
needed.

You can apply if you’re a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership and
you:
   •   have submitted your Income Tax Self-Assessment tax return for the tax year
       2018-19
   •   traded in the tax year 2019-20
   •   are trading when you apply, or would be except for COVID-19
   •   intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020-21
   •   have lost trading/partnership trading profits due to COVID-19
Your self-employed trading profits must also be less than £50,000 and more than half of
your income come from self-employment. This is determined by at least one of the
following conditions being true:
   •   having trading profits/partnership trading profits in 2018-19 of less than £50,000
       and these profits constitute more than half of your total taxable income
   •   having average trading profits in 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 of less than
       £50,000 and these profits constitute more than half of your average taxable
       income in the same period
If you started trading between 2016-19, HMRC will only use those years for which you
filed a Self-Assessment tax return. If you have not submitted your Income Tax Self-
Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19, you must do this by 23 April 2020.
You’ll get a taxable grant which will be 80% of the average profits from the tax years
2016/17 – 2018/19 up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for 3 months. The grant will
be paid direct in one instalment.
HMRC will contact you if you are eligible for the scheme and invite you to apply online.
If you’re a director of your own company and paid through PAYE you may be able to get
support under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (above).
Self-assessment tax payments on account due this year are to be deferred until January
2021.
The introduction of IR35 (which would have extended the tax liabilities of people
working via their own service companies) will be delayed for 12 months.
The minimum income floor in Universal Credit will be temporarily relaxed for all self-
employed people. Self-employed people will be able to access Universal Credit at a rate
equivalent to Statutory Sick Pay.
The Welsh Government has introduced a 3-month interest payment holiday if you are
on Help to Buy mortgage.

The UK Government has also announced a 3-month mortgage payment holiday. In the
first instance, talk to your mortgage provider.

Insurance
The UK Government and insurance industry confirmed on 17 March 2020 that the
advice (at that stage) to avoid pubs, theatres etc is sufficient to make a claim as long as
all other terms and conditions are met, where businesses have cover for both
pandemics and government-ordered closure.
For insurance policies that cover losses from the effects of “notifiable diseases”, please
note that Covid 19 has been classified as a “notifiable disease” in all parts of the UK (in
Wales with effect from 6 March 2020: Health Protection (Notification)(Wales)
Regulations 2020).