Covid-19 – Information and Advice

15/04/2020

Hi All,

I hope everyone is well following Easter.

Some further items to update as they are released and when we come across them.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)

This came through as an email update from HMRC to prepare for any claims through the scheme.

You’ll need to provide the following to make a claim:

  1. The bank account number and sort code you’d like us to use when we pay your claim.
  2. The name and phone number of the person in your business for us to call with any questions.
  3. Your Self-Assessment UTR (Unique Tax Reference), Company UTR or CRN (Company Registration Number).
  4. The name, employee number and National Insurance number for each of your furloughed employees.
  5. The total amount being claimed for all employees and the total furlough period.

We will look to assist the best we can whether we look after your PAYE/Payroll process or not.

There is also a HMRC webinar to accompany here ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19) Job Retention Scheme Webinar‘ it’s just over 20-minutes long and will help to fill in any gaps that you may still currently have.

Economic Resilience Fund

What came as part of our update on the 8th of April, applications for the Economic Resilience Fund opens on the 17th of April.

There is a tool to check eligibility on the following link https://fundchecker.businesswales.gov.wales/

Link also available direct from the Business Wales page https://businesswales.gov.wales/news-and-blogs/news/economic-resilience-fund

Once you get through the eligibility checker it gives further information as follows:

You may apply for the COVID-19 Resilience Fund

The application form will be available from 17 April 2020 until then please read the eligibility below to check if the business meets the criteria.

Please return to the tool after this date with the information at hand to complete the form.

Eligibility criteria

  • Confirmation is provided that funding from any other Welsh Government non-repayable grant funding source is not being pursued;
  • In excess of a 40% reduction (to reflect these businesses reduced access to alternative finance) in turnover since 1 March 2020 has been experienced;
  • VAT registered;
  • Not eligible for business rate relief grant; and
  • Operating address is in Wales and have employees in Wales.
  • A sustainable plan exists to trade beyond the COVID-19 pandemic;
  • Applicant businesses and organisation will be expected to align with the ethos and principles of the Economic Contract, click here to view.
  • In submitting an application for the Resilience Fund I am content for my application details to be shared following GDPR approval with delivery partners of the scheme (Local Authorities and Business Wales)
  • If successful I am happy for the name of my business to be published on a recipients of support list on the Welsh Governments web site.

Please have ready the following information before opening the online form:

  • VAT registration Number
  • Company Registration Number: (if applicable)
  • The Sector the business works in
  • Number of Employees (Full Time)
  • Annual Turnover
  • Bank account details – Bank , Sort code and Account number
  • Which COVID-19 support funds you have applied for or been accepted for.

09/04/2020

Hi All,

Some more news to share on the Job Retention Scheme from another one of our clients.

Received from the Vale of Glamorgan Council, a quick search online does unearth a few more sources saying the same although no government source to corroborate as yet

Breaking News 9 April 2020:

The HMRC portal to process the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will have the capacity to handle 450,000 claims an hour when it goes live on April 20.

Once claims have been submitted, payment for furloughed workers can be expected within four to six working days.

Most importantly, companies will be able to claim furlough payments 14 days in advance of an employer’s payroll run, thereby easing immediate cash flow pressures.

This can be found on their web page Council’s Coronavirus Business Support web page.Just in time for Easter.

Stay safe everybody.

08/04/2020

Good afternoon All,

A slightly earlier one than usual, but really bringing through the spirit of ‘being in it together’, this one was shared with us by one of our clients.

An announcement was made closer to home for most of us in Wales on the 30th of March by the First Minister, Mark Drakeford about the Economic Resilience Fund ‘aims to plug the gaps in the support schemes already announced by the UK Government’.

So I am looking at those of you not paying rates nor having active payroll schemes, falling in between all the various schemes.

Below are the general points that can be found at https://gov.wales/new-500-million-economic-resilience-fund-launched-wales

Economic Resilience Fund

The new £500 million Welsh fund will support firms of all sizes, including social enterprises, with a focus on those which have not already benefited from the coronavirus grants already announced by Welsh Government.

The £500 million fund is made up of two main elements:

  • a new £100 million Development Bank of Wales fund will be available for companies experiencing cash flow problems as a result of the pandemic and will provide loans of between £5,000 and £250,000 at favourable interest rates
  • businesses will also be able to benefit from a £400 million emergency pot providing:
  1. Grants of £10,000 for micro-businesses employing up to nine people. This includes sole traders employing staff. Qualifying businesses will be able to apply by mid-April.
  2. Grants of up to £100,000 for small and medium sized firms with between 10 and 249 employees. Qualifying businesses will be able to apply from early April.
  3. Support for larger Welsh companies, which are of critical social or economic importance to Wales. This element will be open to qualifying businesses in early April.

The £500 million Economic Resilience Fund will support businesses forced to temporarily cease trading – to go into “hibernation” – or which need cash-flow support to adapt to a remote way of working.

The schemes will hopefully launch in early April and we will be advising shortly how to apply and the process to follow.

The Development Bank of Wales; we have already touched on in our update on 03/04/2020 but it is the emergency pot that crept under the radar a little.

We will keep an eye on it and let you know when we know more.

The following page also summarises the schemes available and applicable to welsh businesses https://businesswales.gov.wales/financial-support-and-grants

07/04/2020

Dear All,

Over the weekend further information was released about the Job Retention Scheme.

Going on to outline in greater detail the different types of employees for which claims can be made and what steps are required.

One main requirement is the following:

“To be eligible for the grant employers must confirm in writing to their employee confirming that they have been furloughed. A record of this communication must be kept for five years.”

To help with this we have our sample/template letter available here Furlough Letter – Linghams that can be used for this purpose, based on the ACAS letter no longer available.

Of course, there are various templates available if searching online and you can choose one to suit you.

Outside of regular employees, I believe confirmation of office holders being eligible for the scheme is of notable interest, as long as they are paid via PAYE.

Office holders include Directors, who are not necessarily recognised as employees in employment law.

Taking extracts from https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Office Holders

Office holders can be furloughed and receive support through this scheme. The furlough, and any ongoing payment during furlough, will need to be agreed between the office holder and the party who operates PAYE on the income they receive for holding their office.

Where the office holder is a company director or member of a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), the furlough arrangements should be adopted formally as a decision of the company or LLP.

Company Directors

As office holders, salaried company directors are eligible to be furloughed and receive support through this scheme.

Company directors owe duties to their company which are set out in the Companies Act 2006. Where a company (acting through its board of directors) considers that it is in compliance with the statutory duties of one or more of its individual salaried directors, the board can decide that such directors should be furloughed.

Where one or more individual directors’ furlough is so decided by the board, this should be formally adopted as a decision of the company, noted in the company records and communicated in writing to the director(s) concerned.

Where furloughed directors need to carry out particular duties to fulfil the statutory obligations they owe to their company, they may do so provided they do no more than would reasonably be judged necessary for that purpose, for instance, they should not do work of a kind they would carry out in normal circumstances to generate commercial revenue or provides services to or on behalf of their company.

This also applies to salaried individuals who are directors of their own personal service company (PSC).

03/04/2020

Good afternoon all,

Here with another update; there may be elements of repetition but adding a little bit of detail as more emerges and always better to repeat than not to mention at all.

Any topics repeated will be making use of Government and reputable sources to point you to where you need to go, there will be some region/area specific links for Wales and your local authorities i.e. £10,000 Small Business Grant Scheme.

I will start off with some smaller topics that you might still be uncertain about or maybe have not thought off.

New

Annual Leave

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rules-on-carrying-over-annual-leave-to-be-relaxed-to-support-key-industries-during-covid-19

The government have amended regulations to allow annual leave entitlement to be carried into the next two years. The changes mean that up to 4 weeks of unused annual leave can be carried over.

The amendment to Working Time Regulations will apply to almost all workers including those that are on agency, irregular and zero hour contracts

Rebate of Statutory Sick Pay – Small/Medium Employers (less than 250 employees)

https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay-rebate/

If your business has been affected by staff having to self-isolate because of Covid-19 related reasons, then it will be possible to reclaim up to 2 weeks of SSP for each employee affected.

The scheme is not yet available for applications but it would be advised for staff self-isolation notes to be retained on your records.

Staff can get a self-isolation note at the following page https://111.nhs.uk/isolation-note/

Grants

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme [ii]

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

  • Available to any UK organisation (with a UK bank account) with a PAYE payroll scheme running as of 28th February 2020 (start date)
  • Companies can claim 80% usual monthly wage costs, up to £2,500 a month, plus the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on that wage
    • Waiting for clarification on how to calculate and process these claims in actual practice
    • Portal expected to be available by end of April 2020
  • Eligible for employees furloughed after start date
    • Minimum length an employee can be furloughed is 3 weeks
    • Employees must not undertake work for or on behalf of the organisation during furlough period.
    • Fees, commission and bonuses not included in calculation
    • National Minimum Wage and Living Wage does not apply to furloughed workers that are not working.
    • Employees that are not fixed salaried members of staff calculated from
      • The same month’s earning from the previous year
      • Average monthly earnings from the 2019-20 tax year
  • Employees made redundant after the start date can be rehired and furloughed
  • Employees hired after start date cannot be furloughed and thus not eligible
  • Employees on unpaid leave cannot be furloughed unless this occurred after the start date
  • While on furlough employee’s wage will be subject to usual income tax and other deductions.
  • Those on dividend + salary (through PAYE scheme) will only be able to claim against salary

The Retail and Hospitality Grant Scheme (England)/Small Business Grant Scheme

What is it?

A £10,000 or £25,000 business grant

Who can claim?

The grant is available to businesses that are registered to pay business rates as of 20th March 2020

Based on the rateable value of the property which the business occupies. The qualifying criteria for the two types of grant are:

Grant 1 (£25,000)

  • Rateable value of business property between £12,001 and £51,000 [iii] (£15,000 and £51,000 for businesses based in England [iv])
  • Retail, leisure, hospitality businesses
    • Shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas, live music venues, hotels, guest and boarding premises and self-catering accommodation

Grant 2 (£10,000)

  • Businesses that are eligible for small business rates relief (SBRR)
  • Rateable value of business property less than or equal too £12,000 (Under £15,000 for businesses based in England)
  • Same ratepayer may only receive the grant for a maximum of two properties in each local authority area

Application needs to be submitted for the grant

Relevant local authority websites can be found at

https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council

 

Business Interruption Schemes & Loans

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) / Covid-19 Wales Business Loan Scheme

What is it?

CBILS is a temporary loan scheme intended to provide support to small and medium sized businesses experiencing cashflow difficulties as a result of the pandemic via loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance up to £5 million up to six years. The Covid-19 Welsh Business Loan Scheme (CWBLS) will work alongside the UK wide CBILS.

Who can claim?

As taken from the British Business Bank website your business must:

  • Be UK-based in its business activity
  • Have an annual turnover of no more than £45 million
  • Have a borrowing proposal which the lender:
    • Would consider viable, were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic
    • Believes will enable you to trade out of any short-term to medium-term difficulty

A quick eligibility checker can be found at https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CBILS-SME-Eligibility-Check-FINAL.pdf

Main details

CBILS

  • The Big Four banks have agreed that they will not take personal guarantees as security for lending below £250,000 under CBILS.
  • The Government will make a Business Interruption Payment to cover the first 12 months of interest payments and any lender-levied charges.
  • Businesses will remain responsible for repaying any facility they take out

CWBLS

  • Loans between £5,000 to £250,000  for companies trading longer than 2 years and able to demonstrate that they were able to service that level of debt before the outbreak.
  • 12 month capital and interest repayment holiday
  • No arrangement or monitoring fees
  • 2% interest fixed for 6 years (includes the 12 month holiday)

Where to start?

Link to Development Bank of Wales including eligibility checker

https://developmentbank.wales/

Link to accredited lenders:

https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme-cbils-2/current-accredited-lenders-and-partners/

General

Business Rates Holiday

https://businesswales.gov.wales/sites/business-wales/files/Non-Domestic%20Rates%20-%20Retail%2C%20Leisure%20and%20Hospitality%20Rates%20Relief%20-%20Guidance%20-%20FINAL%20%28E%29_0.pdf

For those businesses with a rateable value of £500,000 or less, business rates for the 2020/2021 year will receive a business rates holiday.

No action required from business. Local authorities may however need to reissue bill.

Properties that are not occupied on 1 April 2020 are excluded from this relief. However, under the mandatory Empty Property Relief, empty properties will receive a 100% reduction in rates for the first three months (and in certain cases six) of being empty.

Deferring  VAT Payments

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deferral-of-vat-payments-due-to-coronavirus-covid-19

VAT payments due between 20th March 2020 and 30th June 2020 will have the option to defer payment until 31st March 2021

Do not need to inform HMRC if you wish to defer.

Direct debits should be cancelled as soon as possible if you wish to defer

VAT return still needs to be submitted on time

Self-Employed

https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/self-employment-income-support-scheme/

What is it?

The Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is aimed at supporting self-employed individuals whose income has been negatively impacted by Covid-19. The scheme will look to provide a grant to self employed individuals (or partnerships) of 80% up to a cap of £2,500 per month. For three months initially, longer if required

Who can claim?

With reference to the businesssupport.gov website, to be able to claim the individual (or member of partnership) must meet ALL the following criteria:

  • Have lost trading/partnership trading profits due to COVID-19
  • File a tax return for 2018-19 as self-employed or a member of a trading partnership. Those who have not yet filed for 2018-19 will have an additional 4 weeks from this announcement to do so;
  • Have traded in 2019-20; be currently trading at the point of application (or would be except for COVID 19) and intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020 to 2021
  • Have trading profits of less than £50,000 and more than half of your total income come from self-employment (i.e. not including pensions and or rental income). This can be with reference to at least one of the following conditions:
    • Your trading profits and total income in 2018/19
    • Your average trading profits and total income across up to the three years between 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19.

How do I claim?

HMRC ask individuals not to contact them right now.

Instead they plan to “invite applications” once their systems have determined an individual’s potential eligibility based on information already submitted. This will only happen via Gov.UK and not text or email

Scheme is expecting to start paying out by beginning of June 2020

In the interim, individuals have been advised to seek other government support such as Universal Credit https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit and Business Continuity Loans

[iv] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses

27/03/2020

Dear All,

Some further information following the Chancellor’s broadcast for those who are self-employed, taken from  https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/ as that explains it best and appears straightforward in most cases.

Also additional information regarding VAT, Job Retention Scheme and Grant Funding.

Self-employment Income Support Scheme

The Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will support self-employed individuals (including members of partnerships) whose income has been negatively impacted by COVID-19. The scheme will provide a grant to self-employed individuals or partnerships, worth 80% of their profits up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

HMRC will use the average profits from tax returns in 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 to calculate the size of the grant. The scheme will be open to those where the majority of their income comes from self-employment and who have profits of less than £50,000. The scheme will be open for an initial three months with people able to make their first claim by the beginning of June.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for the scheme you must meet all the criteria below:

  • Be self-employed or a member of partnership;
  • Have lost trading/partnership trading profits due to COVID-19;
  • File a tax return for 2018-19 as self-employed or a member of a trading partnership. Those who have not yet filed for 2018-19 will have an additional 4 weeks from this announcement to do so;
  • Have traded in 2019-20; be currently trading at the point of application (or would be except for COVID 19) and intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020 to 2021
  • Have trading profits of less than £50,000 and more than half of your total income come from self-employment.

This can be with reference to at least one of the following conditions:

  • Your trading profits and total income in 2018/19
  • Your average trading profits and total income across up to the three years between 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19.

How do I access it?

Individuals should not contact HMRC now. HMRC will use existing information to check potential eligibility and invite applications once the scheme is operational. HMRC will then pay the grant directly to eligible claimants’ bank account. HMRC is urgently working to deliver the scheme; grants are expected to start to be paid out by beginning of June 2020. For eligible individuals who have not submitted their returns for 2018-19, they will have 4 weeks’ notice from the date of the announcement to file their returns and therefore become eligible for this scheme.

When can I access it?

HMRC is urgently working to deliver the scheme; grants are expected to start to be paid by the beginning of June 2020. This time is necessary to ensure that the scheme is both deliverable and fair. In the interim the self-employed will still able eligible for other government support including more generous universal credit and business continuity loans.

VAT Return Submission and Direct Debits

VAT returns submissions still need to be made and if it is not already known to you; to take advantage of the payment deferral period, Direct Debits need to be cancelled to avoid it being collected. Once the deferral period ends then the Direct Debit instructions need to be reinstated.

Job Retention Scheme

As far as I am able to understand for those who are Directors/Shareholders, who receive salaries and draw dividends, only the salary part of their income will be eligible for the 80% reimbursement.

Some further details have been published with regards to claiming the grant. The following link details the process that is proposed and what details are needed. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

But as it stands, it is hoped that the portal will be up and running by the end of April. Whether this will be incorporated into payroll software remains to be seen.

Key points:

  • Employees being furloughed for a minimum of 3 weeks
  • One claim per 3 week period.

Grant Funding

These appear to have started to roll out over the course of the week with various councils having identified those that qualify and some authorities being more efficient than others. Should involve a short application form to be completed that can be sent via post but online is the quickest method available and for the monies to be paid to you directly into the business bank account.

*Last Updated 26/03/2020*

Dear All,

I am sure you are receiving many emails about the virus. I will try to keep this this update concise and to the point.

  • The office is functioning as near to normal service as possible but with staff working from home.
  • We have set up the following key numbers to contact us by if we are unreachable at the office:
    • General Enquiries– 07591598824
    • Payroll Department– 07907664333
  • If you encounter problems getting through by phone please email us and we will come back to you as quickly as possible.

Our email addresses are as follows:

General– [email protected]
Payroll– [email protected]
Peter Lingham– [email protected]
Fun Loo– [email protected]
Jayne Pesticcio– [email protected]
Kai Tang– [email protected]
Leanne Sung– [email protected]
Mamun Miah– [email protected]
Derrick Yeung– [email protected]
Aaron Choi– [email protected]
May Chan– [email protected]
Lee Chan– [email protected]

 

  • We will regularly update you with specific information as we have it.
  • Please feel free to contact us even with general business queries. We are here to help in these testing times.

What we know so far…..

26/03/2020

Job Retention Scheme

This is being rolled out but as I write my understanding:

  • Government grants will cover 80% of the salary of retained workers up to £2500 a month.
  • The scheme will be backdated to 1st of March 2020.
  • HMRC are working on changing the IT system, which is not expected to be completed until APRIL as it will require complex changes to PAYE reporting.
  • IT/Software providers will also have to update their PAYE software as well; before businesses will be able to add furloughed workers to their payroll system.
  • I anticipate first claims to be made within weeks. Hopefully by the end of April at the latest.
  • Whilst still awaiting details the important bit I take from the announcement:

THE PLAN IS TO PROTECT JOBS FOR EMPLOYEES WHO ARE FURLOUGHED BUT NOT WORKING (I SUGGEST YOU NEED TO TAKE CARE TO ENSURE AND BE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THE EMPLOYEE IS NOT WORKING. THE DETAIL IS VAGUE BUT ON READING; FURLOUGHED IS THE ROUTE TO TAKE AS OPPOSED TO REDUCING EVERYBODY’S HOURS.

  • There is NO OBLIGATION TO TOP UP THE 80%. This is a decision for each of you and I have further comments regarding the matter below.
  • The scheme is open to any employer.

IN MY VIEW THERE IS STILL A CASH FLOW ISSUE DEPENDING ON SPEED OF ROLL OUT. MEANING THERE WILL BE A GAP BETWEEN PAYING STAFF AND RECEIVING BACK THE GRANT UNTIL THE SCHEME IS SET UP. FOR EXAMPLE, DOES IT ALLOW YOU NOT TO PAY STAFF UNTIL YOU ARE IN RECEIPT OF THE GRANT? FRANKLY AT THE MOMENT I DON’T KNOW, OBVIOUSLY ADVICE WILL NEED TO BE TAKEN ON THIS.

FOR THOSE CLIENTS WHO WE OPERATE PAYROLL FOR; WE WILL BE AS AHEAD OF THE GAME AS POSSIBLE TO ENSURE WE OBTAIN THAT GRANT FUNDING. WE WILL REQUIRE FROM YOU MORE DETAIL AND WILL EMAIL YOU AN UPDATE AS SOON AS IT BECOMES AVAILABLE. FOR CLIENTS DOING THEIR OWN WAGES, WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU SO PLEASE ASK FOR ASSISTANCE IT IS IMPORTANT WE AS A FIRM SUPPORT YOU AS BEST WE ARE ABLE.

Self-Employed

  • At the moment my personal view is that the announcements are a bit light when it comes to the self-employed. The key headline help (if the right word for it):
  • Deferment of self-assessment tax payment due in July until January 2021.
  • Able to access statutory sick pay through the benefits scheme. There is no mention however whether SSP would be extended to the lowest earners who do not qualify.
  • Deferred plans to roll out IR35 legislation until next year.

AS I SAY, SOMEWHAT LIGHT AND ONE HOPES MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS WILL FOLLOW.

VAT Deferral

  • Liabilities incurred in the period of 20th March to 30th June will be deferred for payment until the 2020/2021 tax year.

I SUGGEST THIS MAYBE EXTENDED.

My Take on Business Survival…..

  • CASH IS KING, PROTECT IT
  • WHILST THE VIRUS IS VERY DANGEROUS, I AM CONFIDENT THAT WE HAVE SUFFICIENT CLEVER PEOPLE TO BEAT IT. THEREFORE, THERE IS AN END TO THIS.
  • GET THE BALANCE RIGHT. WE ARE ANXIOUS TO GET CONTROL AND WANT TO BE AS PROACTIVE AS POSSIBLE BUT TRY TO KEEP AS MUCH FLEXIBILITY IN YOUR PLANNING AS POSSIBLE AS THINGS ARE MOVING QUICKLY. GO THROUGH THE GEARS IN PLANNING AS OPPOSED TO GOING FROM FIRST TO FIFTH IN ONE MOVE.     
  • TRY TO KEEP PAYING YOUR KEY SUPPLIERS AND FELLOW SIZED BUSINESSES TO KEEP YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN
  • THE KEY IS NOT TO JUST CANCEL BUT TO TALK TO THOSE SUPPLIERS FIRST
  • THE BIG UTILITIES HAVE THE RESOURCE TO KEEP GOING FOR LONGER WITHOUT BEING PAID, SO LOOK TO GET DEFERMENT/HOLIDAY PERIODS BY TALKING TO THEM. 
  • DANGEROUS BUT NECESSARY AND GOING OUT ON A LIMB TO ADVISE ON RATES. ALTHOUGH YOU MAY NOT QUALIFY FOR THE 12-MONTH BUSINESS RATES HOLIDAY, CONTACT THE COUNCIL AND REQUEST TO DEFER THE START DATE FOR PAYING THE 2020/2021 DEMAND. THE LOCAL COUNCIL USUALLY SET UP TO PAY APRIL TO JANUARY REQUEST FOR JUNE TO MARCH.
  • RENT AND SIMILAR COSTS, LOOK TO THE LANDLORD FOR DEFERMENT. STRESSING; THAT IT IS NOT LOOKING TO AVOID PAYMENT. THEY WILL RECEIVE THE SAME AMOUNT OVER THE PERIOD OF THE LEASE BUT JUST THE TIMING YOU ARE LOOKING TO CHANGE AND SUGGEST SPREADING THE MISSED QUARTER OVER THE REMAINING TERM OF LEASE OR AT LEAST TWELVE MONTHS.
  • AGAIN DANGEROUS BUT NECESSARY ADVICE WE ARE WAITING TO SEE HOW THE JOB RETENTION SCHEME IS GOING TO WORK AND IMPACT ON PAYE/NIC DEDUCTIONS AND OF COURSE CORPORATION TAX. BUT EARLY CONTACT TO OBTAIN TIME TO PAY ARRANGEMENTS IS SENSIBLE AND SAME APPLIES FOR VAT, EVEN WITH THE DEFERRAL PERIOD.
  • WHILST YOUR FIRST THOUGHT MAYBE TO CONSIDER TOPPING UP THE SALARY TO 100%, CONSIDER ASKING STAFF, FOR THOSE TO WHICH IT APPLIES, TO APPROACH THEIR MORTGAGE LENDERS FOR A 3-MONTH HOLIDAY ON REPAYMENTS. THAT TOGETHER WITH THE 80% SALARY SHOULD SEE NO NET REDUCTION IN THEIR CASH FLOW POSITION.
  • EARLY CONTACT WITH THE BANK AND LOANS. LOOK FOR A SHORT TERM CAPITAL HOLIDAY TO RETAIN CASH WITHIN THE BUSINESS.
  • CONSIDER THE SAME WITH VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT LEASES. I AM SURE THEY WILL PLAYHARD BALL BUT ASK THE QUESTION.

ONE FINAL POINT WHICH NO ONE APPEARS TO MENTION IS THE IMPACT ON THE COMPANY AND PRIVATE CREDIT REPORTS.

Stay safe.

Kind Regards

Peter

Peter Lingham