Check if you could be covered by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

If you and your employer both agree, your employer might be able to keep you on the payroll if they’re unable to operate or have no work for you to do because of coronavirus (COVID-19). This is known as being ‘on furlough’. Check if you are eligible below.

You could get paid 80% of your wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, up to a monthly cap of £2,500.

You’ll still be paid at least 80% of your wages by your employer and pay taxes from your income. You cannot undertake work for your employer while on furlough. We expect the scheme to be up and running by the end of April.

Check if you’re eligible

Both you and your employer must agree to put you on furlough - so speak to your employer about whether they can claim. You cannot apply for the scheme yourself. Once agreed your employer must write to you confirming you have been furloughed to be eligible to claim.

Any UK employer with a UK bank account will be able to claim, but you must have been on your employer’s PAYE payroll on 28 February 2020. You can be on any type of contract, including a zero-hour contract or a temporary contract.

This scheme does not apply if you are self-employed or to any income from self-employment.

If you’re on sick leave or self-isolating because of coronavirus (COVID-19), speak to your employer about whether you’re eligible - you should get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) while you are on sick leave or self-isolating, but can be furloughed after this.

If you are shielding in line with public health guidance, then you should speak to your employer about whether they plan to place staff on furlough.

The grant will start on the day you were placed on furlough and this can be backdated to 1 March.

If you’re a public sector employee

The government expects that the scheme will not be used by many public sector organisations, as the majority of public sector employees are continuing to provide essential public services or contribute to the response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Where employers receive public funding for staff costs, and that funding is continuing, we expect employers to use that money to continue to pay staff in the usual fashion – and correspondingly not furlough them.

This also applies to non-public sector employers who receive public funding for staff costs. Organisations who are receiving public funding specifically to provide services necessary to respond to COVID-19 are not expected to furlough staff.

In a small number of cases, for example where organisations are not primarily funded by the government and whose staff cannot be redeployed to assist with the coronavirus response, the scheme may be appropriate for some staff.

If you work for the public sector, you can get more information about how the scheme works for you from your UK Government Department, employer or, in the case of employers funded by the Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Northern Ireland Executive, through your respective administration.

If you were made redundant after 28 February

Your employer can agree to re-employ you and place you on furlough instead. They’ll still be able to claim a grant to cover 80% of your monthly earnings, up to a monthly cap of £2,500.

If you currently have more than one employer

You can be put on furlough by one employer and continue to work for another, if it is permitted within your employment contract.

If you’re put on furlough by more than one employer, you’ll receive separate payments from each employer. The 80% of your normal wage up to a £2,500 monthly cap applies to each job.

If you are on Universal Credit

If you’re earning less because you’re on furlough, your Universal Credit payment might change - find out how earnings affect your payments.

If you are on Maternity Leave, contractual adoption pay, paternity pay or shared parental pay

You must take at least 2 weeks Maternity Leave (4 weeks if you work in a factory or workshop) immediately following the birth of your baby. This is a health and safety requirement. In practice, most women start their Maternity Leave before they give birth and you may want to do this.

If you are eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or Maternity Allowance, the normal rules apply, and you will be entitled to claim up to 39 weeks of statutory pay or allowance.

If you qualify for SMP, you will still be eligible for 90% of your average weekly earnings in the first 6 weeks, followed by 33 weeks of pay paid at 90% of your average weekly earnings or the statutory flat rate (whichever is lower). The statutory flat rate is currently £148.68 a week, rising to £151.20 a week from April 2020.

Some employers ‘top up’ Statutory Maternity Pay and their employees are eligible for an enhanced, earnings related rate of pay. If you are eligible for enhanced (contractual) maternity pay from your employer this is included within the wage costs that your employer can claim through the scheme. The same principles apply if you qualify for contractual adoption pay, paternity pay or shared parental pay.

If you are currently pregnant and due to start Maternity Leave

You will start Maternity Leave as usual. If your earnings have reduced due to a period on furlough or statutory sick pay prior to your Maternity Leave starting this may affect your Statutory Maternity Pay. The same principle applies to contractual adoption pay, paternity pay and shared parental pay.

How much you’ll get

Your employer will get a grant to cover 80% of your monthly earnings, up to a maximum of £2,500. Firms will be eligible for the grant once you have been furloughed, from 1 March. Your employer:

• will pay you at least 80% of your usual monthly earnings, up to a maximum of £2,500, as your wage
• can claim for a minimum of 3 weeks and for up to 3 months - but this may be extended
• can choose to pay you more than the grant - but they do not have to

You’ll still pay Income Tax, National Insurance contributions and any other deductions from your wage.

If you are concerned that your employer is not paying you what you are entitled to then you should raise this with your employer in the first instance, then with Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service).

How your monthly earnings are calculated

If you’ve been employed (or engaged by an employment business in the case of agency workers) for a full year, employers will claim for the higher of either:

• the amount you earned in the same month last year
• an average of your monthly earnings from the last year

If you’ve been employed for less than a year, employers will claim for an average of your monthly earnings since you started work. The same arrangements apply if your monthly pay varies such as if you are on a zero-hour contract.

If you started work in February 2020, your employer will pro-rata your earnings from that month.

Bonuses, commissions and fees are not included as part of your monthly earnings.

While you’re on furlough

Your employer will need to notify you before putting you on furlough.

Once you are on furlough you will not be able to work for your employer, but you can undertake training or volunteer subject to public health guidance, as long as you’re not:

• making money for your employer
• providing services to your employer

If workers are required to for example, complete training courses whilst they are furloughed, then they must be paid at least the NLW/NMW for the time spent training, even if this is more than the 80% of their wage that will be subsidised.

Any activities undertaken while on furlough must be in line with the latest Public Health guidance during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Your employer can still make you redundant while you’re on furlough or afterwards.

Your rights as an employee are not affected by being on furlough, including redundancy rights.

If your employer chooses to place you on furlough, you will need to remain on furlough for a minimum of 3 weeks. However, your employer can place you on furlough more than once, and one period can follow straight after an existing furlough period, while the scheme is open. The scheme will be open for at least 3 months.

If you do not want to go on furlough

If your employer asks you to go on furlough and you refuse you may be at risk of redundancy or termination of employment, depending on the circumstances of your employer. However, this must be in line with normal redundancy rules and protections.

Information from Government website, click here to see the page.

COVID-19 WEBINAR: The vital Steps Businesses Need to Take Today

Paul McCarthy from ActionCOACH will be hosting a webinar on Friday 27^th March at 10am to help give business owners and leaders the confidence that they can survive and even thrive in the current economic environment caused by Covid-19.  There will be practical advice about how to negotiate the coming weeks and how to prepare and be ready for when the economy does come back.  Now is not the time to panic – it’s the time to think clearly about the actions you take

Date and time: Friday 27th March | 10:00am - 11:00am 

Click here to book your place.

West Sussex County Council has introduced a free dispensation notice for all NHS Staff which will be available from the parking shop.

The dispensation will allow NHS staff to park in pay and display bays, permit bays, shared use bays and limited waiting bays without charge or limit, this will be valid for 12 weeks.

Staff can email report.onparking@nslservices.co.uk or parking.comments@adur-worthing.gov.uk leaving their contact details and a member of staff will contact the customer back to arrange where to send the dispensation to.

In addition the borough council has suspended parking charges in Lyndhurst Road Car Parks for West Sussex Hospital staff providing a note is left in their windscreen.

Working Remotely for Small Businesses

This is changing times for all businesses, and for some this will be the first time that they have considered working remotely.  There are many tools available, and they all have their place.  It will be important to choose carefully which tools will give you and your business the best results.  All of the large providers will have similar offerings.  Although most large providers will be suitable for everyone it will personal preference that dictates which provider you choose.

Available Resources

Microsoft Office 365 Business Premium provides everything from video-conferencing to shared document libraries, and all systems integrate well.  Microsoft provide desktop versions and it is also possible to login and work directly online.

Google’s offering is G-Suite and Apple uses features like ICloud and Facetime.  Think about what you need from your online resources, and the tasks you undertake most.

Other resources to think about include Digital Dictation for workflow and leaving voice messages for other workers, Asana, Trello or Monday.Com for project management and task delegation, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet for real-time face to face meetings and video-conferencing.  Xero and Quickbooks are just some examples of online accounting systems which can be accessed by multiple staff members.  Your smart phone or call answering service.  For small businesses the greatness of all of these online accessible apps is that they are already set up and ready for businesses to use wherever they are, and they are ready for businesses to grow into and expand. They can be accessed through a smart phone just as easily as a laptop or desk-top PC.  If you plan on using your company’s domain name with any of the products and integrating your email it will be more important to choose one package for all features.  If this is something you are considering it is worth obtaining specific IT advice from a local company.

Working from Home

It can be easy to become distracted when working from home.  I like to work office hours 9:00-5:00 pm and set myself a lunch break.  I only have my work emails on my mobile and on my laptop, I keep my tablet free from work email, so that I can browse my personal email without being interrupted in the evenings, and so I feel like I have finished work for the day. I like to prioritise client care, paid work and strategic marketing.   When planning to work from home identify where you will work at home and how you can set this up to replicate an on-location work setting.  Invest in the right equipment, for example an office worker should consider a suitable desk, ergonomic office chair, and good quality monitor, as well as additional lighting and heating, even if that just means a desk lamp and a fan heater.

Top Tips

• 1.      Use the apps which best integrate with your infrastructure, large or small.  If you are a great fan of Apple products, these will integrate best into your business.  That said if all of your clients are on Android, look for something universal.
• 1.      If remote working is going to be part of your business going forwards, opt for Business Packages, not home packages.
• 2.      If you want to use your company’s domain name consider obtaining specific IT advice from a local company to make sure the products you choose will fit your goals.
• 3.      Set yourself daily working hours and stick to them. 
• 4.      Don’t do the washing or hoovering when you are supposed to be at work!
• 5.      Identify your work priorities to ensure you achieve your business goals.
• 6.      Write out a quick list of the tasks you need to action each day and work through them strategically, as if they were being given to you by a line manager.
• 7.      Decide if you are going to work ‘over-time’ to complete them.
• 8.      It is worth investing in an ergonomic work-station.

Article written by Richenda Solomon from My PA Mobile Secretary 

Keep your customers coming back!

Some quick and easy ways to excel with your Customers

Think about it, as a customer yourself, not only do you want a product or service that does what it promises, but you also expect a great experience during the whole buying/ownership process.

People ultimately “buy into” people, therefore as business owners we need to create an “experience” that helps ensure that our customers keep coming back. It is one of the key differentiators between us and our competition!

Here’s some quick and easy ways to excel with your customers:

Smile

A smile costs nothing and is sure to make your customers feel welcome (even if you’re speaking to them on the phone, trust me, they’ll hear it!). It sets the tone of conversation, makes you approachable and lets customers know what they can expect.

Communicate like a human being

This sounds so obvious, but its easy to get into a set pattern of words or responses to customers questions or needs. Everyone is different, so treat them that way! Make sure you use their names, be polite, make some jokes, but most of all be conversational. Find out what they need and tell them how you can help.

Respond promptly

When a client emails you, acknowledge it as quickly as possible, even if you can’t answer it fully right now. You will give them comfort by simply acknowledging it and letting them know that “you’re on it”. Leaving your clients hanging is not good for business!

Listen to your customers

Find out what they want, what they need, what they expect. The easiest way to do this; Ask questions and listen. Be present, engage with them, give them the benefit of your full attention. Look them in the eye, connect with them as a person.

Say thank you

Thank you. So simple, but so powerful. It goes beyond simple courtesy. A thank you at the right time helps build trust, and trust is fundamental to any relationship, business or otherwise.

And if something goes wrong…

Take control. Apologise and work with the customer directly to resolve the problem to the customers satisfaction.

If you would like help to develop your skills in this area please give me a call on 01273 35886 for a no obligations conversation or email me at contact@martin-smith.biz.

Martin Smith Learning and Development Ltd is a management training and coaching company working with business leaders at all levels to help them develop their communication and management skills and to build effective working relationships with the people that they interact with. They can be contacted on 01273 358863 or via email at contact@martin-smith.biz or via the web at www.martin-smith.biz

Care for Veterans Receives Generous Grant from RAF Benevolent Fund 

The RAF Benevolent Fund has awarded a grant of £20,000 to Worthing-based charity, Care for Veterans, towards mixed rehabilitation for RAF veterans and their dependants throughout 2020. 
 
The RAF Benevolent Fund is the RAF's leading welfare charity. It provides support for all serving and former members of the RAF as well as their partners and dependent children.
 
Care for Veterans provides residential nursing care and rehabilitation to physically disabled ex-Service personnel, including those who have served in the RAF. This generous donation from the RAF Benevolent Fund will pay for therapy sessions such a physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, social and recreation sessions, and neuropsychology for RAF veterans like Tony Walker. 
 
Tony Walker was born in Worthing in 1933 and lived in the town all his life. He was a young boy when the Second World War began, but still remembers hearing the air raid sirens. He explained: “We came up from the shelter, and buildings that used to be there just weren’t there anymore!” Tony’s stepfather served in the Army during the War and spent time in a Japanese prisoner of war camp after being captured on the Burma Railway. Tony said: “He found it very difficult when he returned home, and never spoke about his experience over there.”
 
Tony started his National Service in the RAF when he was 18 years old. His first posting was at RAF Padgate, then he moved to RAF Hendersford for his ‘square-bashing’ (marching drills and other military exercises). After National Service, he went back to complete his carpentry apprenticeship and worked as a carpenter until his retirement.
 
Tony moved to live at Care for Veterans in March 2019. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s seven years ago, and as he explained: “It just started with small shakes that didn’t really affect me. It was while I was caring for my wife that things got worse, and I found I couldn’t do as many things as I used to.”           
 
Since being at Care for Veterans, Tony has been on day trips which have helped to build his confidence and really bring him out of his shell. He’s always up for a challenge and was thrilled to take part in the Worthing 10K this year, being pushed around the course in his wheelchair by some Care for Veterans’ supporters. He was part of a 100-strong team flying the centenary flag for the charity.
 
Tony has regular physiotherapy sessions, he’s extremely focused, and even studies the theory behind his practice. When he arrived at Care for Veterans, he could walk with a Zimmer frame, but his steps were irregular, unstable and he rushed along – often with the frame too far ahead. With poor dynamic balance and muscle co-ordination, Tony was at high risk of falling. He has made impressive progress since and is now able to walk 50 meters. Tony’s gait has really improved, and he’s learnt to co-ordinate his walking rhythm with the Zimmer frame.  He does this by saying out loud: “frame ... step … frame … step.” 
 
Tony is highly motivated, and always proud when he achieves a therapeutic goal. He said: “It’s good to put yourself through the gym, see if you can do it, keep yourself moving. When I first got to Care for Veterans, I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. Then I met a guy who was less able than me, and I thought, why am I complaining? You’ve got to make the best of it, haven’t you?”

Call for businesses to help make NHS Ventilators

The government is looking for businesses who can support in the supply of ventilators and ventilator components across the UK as part of the response to COVID-19.

As well as manufacturers, they are looking for businesses with the following skills:

• design/specification
• rapid prototyping
• contract/product assembly
• certification/regulation/testing
• logistics
• medical training

For more information click here

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan

A Government guarantee scheme available to business customers with a short to mid-term funding need due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Key features

• Minimum amount £25,001 – maximum £5,000,000
• Terms from 1 to 6 years

• The Government provides Barclays with a guarantee for 80% of the loan, however, you are responsible for repaying 100% of the facility
• A Business Interruption Payment (BIP) will be paid by the Government to Barclays covering interest plus arrangement and security fees for the first 12 months.
• After the first 12 months, interest at an agreed margin over the Bank of England Bank Rate** will be payable.
• A capital repayment holiday can be requested (subject to application) at the start of the loan or mid-term.
• Monthly capital repayments will be payable at all other times.
• Repay the loan early in full or in part, without incurring prepayment fees. For fixed rate loans, breakage costs will be charged for prepayments after the first 12 months.

To assist customers during this unprecedented time, each business will be assessed on their individual circumstances to ensure that they are offered an appropriate lending facility. Pricing will be consistent for all customers and not based on an assessment of risk.

A funding solution with flexible terms

Loans between £25,001 to £5,000,000 with terms up to 6 years are available, enabling you to select the optimum level of repayments to suit your business needs.

Loan repayments will be debited monthly by Direct Debit. Capital and interest will be calculated separately but collected in one monthly repayment. After the first 12 months, interest will continue to be payable during any capital repayment holiday.

Important information

*The Government guarantee is for 80% of the loan amount. You are responsible for repayment of 100% of the facility, not just the 20% outside the coverage of the Government guarantee. In the event of your default, we will follow our standard commercial recovery procedures, including the realisation of security, including personal guarantees, if applicable, before we make a claim on the Government guarantee. The provision of this guarantee scheme should not be construed as an endorsement or warranty of Barclays by the Government of the UK, including the Secretary of State.

This loan is partially guaranteed* by the Government, enabling us to offer loans (subject to application, eligibility and status) to businesses that would not ordinarily be eligible for bank funding due to a lack of sufficient financial security.

The loan may be used for a wide range of business needs, from buying assets to providing funding for working capital, subject to certain restrictions.

For full information click here to view the Barclay's Bank fact sheet.

Self protection and radical self care coaching tools to equip yourself in times of crisis

Chamber member, Sandra Crathern and Roberta Pagliarulo are two passionate Coaches who want to offer our contribution to the community , sharing their stories of resilience, self care and self protection, in order to support the participants emotionally, physically and mentally to help overcome this time of crisis.

During the complimentary webinar, they will use examples of their lives, when they overcame their own challenges, as well as useful practical tips to help people regain balance during this turbulent time.

Join them on  Sunday the 5th April, 10am until 11.30am

please  contact sandra@innavision.co.uk , to make a pre-registration to obtain the zoom link to connect.

We only have 20 available spaces in order to focus on participants with care and attention.

Support for businesses through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those employees that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis.

Eligibility
All UK businesses are eligible.

How to access the scheme

You will need to:

• designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers,’ and notify your employees of this change - changing the status of employees remains subject to existing employment law and, depending on the employment contract, may be subject to negotiation
• submit information to HMRC about the employees that have been furloughed and their earnings through a new online portal (HMRC will set out further details on the information required)

HMRC will reimburse 80% of furloughed workers wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month per employee. HMRC are working urgently to set up a system for reimbursement. Existing systems are not set up to facilitate payments to employers. We are waiting for further information. 

If your business needs short term cash flow support, you may be eligible for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan.

Support for businesses through deferring VAT and Income Tax payments

We will support businesses by deferring Valued Added Tax (VAT) payments for 3 months. If you’re self-employed, Income Tax payments due in July 2020 under the Self-Assessment system will be deferred to January 2021.

VAT

For VAT, the deferral will apply from 20 March 2020 until 30 June 2020.

Eligibility 

All UK businesses are eligible.

How to access the scheme

This is an automatic offer with no applications required. Businesses will not need to make a VAT payment during this period. Taxpayers will be given until the end of the 2020 to 2021 tax year to pay any liabilities that have accumulated during the deferral period. VAT refunds and reclaims will be paid by the government as normal.

Income Tax

For Income Tax Self-Assessment, payments due on the 31 July 2020 will be deferred until the 31 January 2021.

Eligibility 

If you are self-employed you are eligible.

How to access the scheme

This is an automatic offer with no applications required.

No penalties or interest for late payment will be charged in the deferral period.

HMRC have also scaled up their Time to Pay offer to all firms and individuals who are in temporary financial distress as a result of Covid-19 and have outstanding tax liabilities.

Support for businesses through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme

The new Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme supports SMEs with access to working capital (including loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance) of up to £5 million in value and for up to 6 years.

The government will pay to cover the first 12 months of interest payments and any lender-levied fees, so smaller businesses will not face any upfront costs and will benefit from lower initial repayments.

The government will provide lenders 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.

This scheme is being delivered through commercial lenders, backed by the British Business Bank.

Eligibility

You are eligible for the scheme if:

• your business is UK based, with turnover of no more than £45 million per year
• your business meets the other British Business Bank eligibility criteria

How to access the scheme

The scheme is now open for applications. To apply, you should talk to your bank or one of the 40 accredited finance providers (not the British Business Bank) as soon as possible, to discuss your business plan. You can find out the latest on the best ways to contact them via their websites.

All major banks are offering this scheme. If you have an existing loan with monthly repayments you may want to ask for a repayment holiday to help with cash flow.

The full rules of the scheme and the list of accredited lenders are available on the British Business Bank website.

The above has been taken directly from this page at gov.uk and will be updated regularly