The spread of the coronavirus is causing all businesses to respond and make difficult decisions in order to protect colleagues and their families, as well as customers.
To help mitigate some of the challenges, the government has announced certain emergency measures which are summarised here and will be updated on a daily basis.
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be available from day one for those individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 or those who are unable to work because they are self-isolating in line with Government advice.
- Small and medium sized businesses will be able to reclaim SSP paid for sickness due to COVID-19:
- The refund will cover up to two weeks SSP per eligible employee
- Employers should maintain records of staff absences, but employees will not need to provide a GP fit note.
- The Business Rates retail discount will increase to 100 per cent for one year (from April 2020) and will be expanded to the leisure and hospitality sectors.
- Grants up to £25,000 will be available to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses operating from premises with a rateable value over £15,000 and below £51,000.
- Businesses in retail, leisure and hospitality which pay no business rates (under the small business rates relief scheme) will be eligible for a one-off grant of £10,000.
- A new temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme is in process. This will enable businesses to access support for bank lending and overdrafts, with the first six months interest free.
- All businesses in financial difficulties and with outstanding tax liabilities may be able to benefit from the HMRC ‘Time to Pay Service’. The dedicated HM Revenue & Customs’ Helpline number is 0800 0159 559. Additional staffing has been brought in to deal with the anticipated surge in calls.
Your Customers
- It is important to keep them informed of your firm’s plans
- Avoid face to face meetings wherever feasible
- Adapt your services/delivery mechanisms to meet demand
Financial
You need to consider the possible impact of the following:
- Customers paying slowly or reducing their order levels
- Bad debts, delivery failures
- Fewer new customers, reduced spending by customers
Consider the following:
- Review supplier payment terms
- Offer credit to customers via one of the established financial services providers
- Reduce non-essential expenditure across your business
- If staff are required to work from home review contracts of employment and amend where necessary
- Explore ‘loan holiday’ options with your lenders
- Ensure you receive the appropriate business rates relief
IT and Working from Home
Consider these:
- What IT is required to enable staff to work from home.
- Additional hardware requirements
- Data Security risks
- Insurance issues
Insurance
- Review your business insurance, does it include Business Interruption cover or not?
- Read the policy wording to see if you have cover relating to ‘Notifiable Disease’ as it may benefit your business.
PLEASE ACCESS LATEST FROM GOVERNMENT ON THESE ISSUES HERE
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