Chancellor Rishi Sunak has set out a £1bn fund to help businesses hit by the rise in Covid cases, including the leisure and hospitality sector
In light of yesterday’s announcement by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, we thought it would be helpful to put the new funding information in one place and what it means for you –
- Restaurants, bars, cinemas and theatres can apply for a one-off grant of up to £6,000 for each of their premises. The Treasury is setting aside £683m for these grants and it will be provided under existing council-run schemes. These aren’t up and running at the point of writing this email, but we expect them to be in the New Year.
- Other struggling businesses outside leisure and hospitality can apply to local councils for a different grant under the Additional Restrictions Grant, which has been topped up with £102m
- An extra £30m for arts organisations through the existing Culture Recovery Fund.
Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme Reintroduced
The Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme means businesses with fewer than 250 employees will be reimbursed SSP for Covid-related absences, for up to two weeks per employee.
Statutory sick pay (SSP) is £96.35 a week and you will be eligible to make a claim from now (and can make claims retrospectively from mid-January).
And Finally….
Scammers are getting very clever – we’ve had instances of “HMRC” calling to speak to us about our clients. Fortunately, our security checks foiled their efforts, but they were very convincing. Please be mindful when taking calls from professional agencies, as well as clicking on links in emails.
If it looks suspicious, it usually is! We recommend changing all passwords before your Christmas break and ensuring all IT software updates are completed (such as Microsoft and anti-virus).
Zoo Accounting