COVID-19 Updates

Universal Credit / Benefits Calculator Many people will need to consider Government Benefits because of the Pandemic, some for the first time and therefore we are getting a lot of questions surrounding the guidance on claiming and amounts. This is not our area of expertise but below we have listed direct links to an independent benefits calculators and other useful sites.   BENEFITS CALCULATORS If you want to check what benefits you are entitled to the Government recommends using an independent calculator to find out: what benefits you could get how to claim how your benefits will be affected if [...]

JOB RETENTION SCHEME   Furlough Letters Guidance   Updated 26 March 2020 PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN EXAMPLE ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON UNTIL YOU HAVE CONFIRMED CONTENTS WITH YOUR LAWYERS AND / OR HR SPECIALISTS   Please also see Knights PLC interpretations.   FURLOUGH LETTERS An employee furlough refers to a temporary leave or modification of normal working hours for a specific amount of time. It’s a leave of absence given to an employee with the promise that they will still have their job once the leave is over. There are numerous reasons why employers implement a [...]

PLEASE NOTE : If you have a specific question in mind, hold down CTRL + F on your key pad and then type in a key word. This will then take you to each part of the article that contains that key word. Based on information available at (29/02/2020) Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers with a PAYE scheme will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis. This applies to employees who have been asked to stop working, but [...]

Last night’s announcement was the one most were waiting for, but we are aware there are still many unanswered questions. We would like to thank you for your patience on answers which simply do not exist or have not been decided yet. We have done a summary below of last nights briefing. Yesterday the government announced that millions of self-employed individuals will benefit from a ground-breaking UK-wide scheme to help them during the coronavirus outbreak via direct cash grant of 80% of their profits, up to £2,500 per month. In the latest step to protect individuals and businesses, Rishi Sunak [...]

Update on Furlough Leave with worked example. Written 26/03/2020 as an adaptation from ICAEW interpretation of HMRC guidance. Furloughed members of staff must not work for the employer during the period of furlough. Furlough is from 1 March 2020, so is to be backdated. It will last for at least 3 months and will be extended if necessary. Note that while the scheme is backdated to the beginning of March as it is intended to support all those employed then, a firm will only be eligible to claim the grant once they have agreed the furlough with their staff and [...]

  THE CORONAVIRUS BUSINESS INTERRUPTION LOAN SCHEME (CBILS) IS NOW AVAILABLE THROUGH PARTICIPATING LENDERS   Written 23 March 2020   INTRODUCTION CBILS is a new scheme, announced by The Chancellor at Budget 2020, that can provide facilities of up to £5m for smaller businesses across the UK who are experiencing lost or deferred revenues, leading to disruptions to their cashflow. CBILS supports a wide range of business finance products, including term loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance. The scheme provides the lender with a government-backed guarantee potentially enabling a ‘no’ credit decision from a lender to become a ‘yes’. [...]

See below information regarding furlough leave for staff.

Firstly, we would like to reassure all our clients that the high level of service we provide will be maintained throughout these uncertain times. In accordance with the government’s orders, it is with a heavy heart we have decided to close the office itself but all team members are still working from home and will be contactable via email. Calls have also been placed on divert so we are still able to offer the same outstanding client service that we always have - please call (01482) 646440 If you would like direct Contact with Richard Lacey and Richard Tucker their [...]