The Martlet Partnership Winter 2020-21 Business Support Guide

Further to the Government announcements, The Martlet Partnership now have pleasure in presenting their Winter Business Support Guide, which contains further commentary and analysis .

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, many businesses and individuals have benefited from a range of schemes, including furlough grants for staff unable to work, grants for the self-employed, deferral of VAT and Income Tax payments and cheap, government-backed business loans.

With the second wave of coronavirus infections upon us, the whole of England entered a national lockdown from 5 January, while Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have imposed local or national restrictions for some weeks now.

To help businesses that are required to close, the Chancellor has extended the existing Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which was due to end on 31 October, until 30 April 2021. The CJRS has also been made more generous from 1 November than it was in October, as it will now cover 80% of employees’ normal pay for their furloughed time, capped at £2,500 per month. The employer will be required to pay the employer’s National Insurance Contributions and minimum workplace pension contributions due on their employees’ wages.

Note that the financial support for businesses to pay their employees applies across the UK, while the lockdown rules are different in each country.