On 31 October 2020, the Prime Minister announced that England would go into a second lockdown with effect from 5 November 2020 for 4 weeks. There are various restrictions as with the previous lockdown. This article is to highlight the financial help for businesses.
This was due to finish at the end of October. It will, however, be extended for a further month (at the moment).
The extension of furlough will be flexi-furlough, providing support for 80% of wages, so effectively the same as the support during August.
To be eligible for the extension, employees must have been on the payroll by 30 October 2020, but they don’t need to have been furloughed before.
Details can be found here.
The Job Support Scheme has been postponed due to the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Business premises forced to close can receive grants of up to £3,000 under the Local Restrictions Support Grant, which is being administered by local authorities. This was originally announced for businesses affected by the move under the tier system, but should now cover the closure of non essential retailers.
Details can be found here.
The Government will pay a grant for the period 1 November 2020 to 31 January 2021 equivalent to 40% of average profits. The same eligibility applies to the third grant as it did for the first two. It should be available to claim from 14 December 2020.
Details can be found here.
We believe that all of the above is subject to parliament approval.
As with the support announced in the spring, further details will emerge in respect of how and when to claim.
2 November 2020
