This newsletter is part of a regular update I send out to businesses in Scunthorpe. If you have not received this email directly from me please click here to subscribe to my COVID-19 Business newsletter.
Good afternoon,
Following the Prime minister’s announcement yesterday, England will be re-entering a tiered system of restrictions from the 2nd December, more information about the tiers can be found here.
We will find out the tier Scunthorpe falls into later this week and I will, of course, provide a further update.
Commercial break-ins
According to NLC there has, unfortunately, been a recent increase in commercial property break-ins. Do consider taking the necessary precautionary steps.
Important furlough update
As you will know the furlough scheme has been extended until 31 March 2021. Unlike before, neither you nor your employee will need to have benefited from the scheme before to claim for periods from 1 November onwards - so please make the best use of this change. Do keep a record of your furlough claims in case of future HMRC enquiries.
Deadlines
- Claims for periods up to 31 October will have to be submitted before 30 November
- Moving forward there will be monthly deadlines for furlough claims. Claims will have to be submitted within 14 calendar days the month after.
- Claims for the November will have to be submitted before 14 December
For more information click here.
Apply for Local Authority Discretionary Fund & Local Restrictions Support Fund
Just a reminder that the November Discretionary Fund is open until 30th November - you can read more and apply here.
I will continue to push for more discretionary support should we end up in Tier 2 or 3.
Self-isolation payments
Personally, I would prefer if you could furlough staff members who have been asked to self-isolate. In the event that that is not optimal (for example, when employees only work for small amount of hours and do largely overtime) you may want to ask them to look into NLC's one-off £500 "Self-isolation payments".
To qualify you either must be claiming certain benefits or be affected by coronavirus and have a weekly income of no more than £375 (before deductions), or a monthly income of no more than £1612.52 (before deductions).
This does not extend to time off for looking after children who are self-isolating. More information can be found here.
Support for Working Parents
Working parents who receive support through CJRS or SEISS will still be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) and 30 hours free Childcare, even if they or their partner’s income falls below the normal minimum requirement. This support will align with the duration of the schemes (currently 31 March 2021).
Critical workers that have worked extra hours because of the pandemic will still be eligible for childcare support, even if they or their partner’s income goes over the £100,000 upper threshold in the current tax year (March 2020-2021).
Working Parents already using TFC across the UK and/or 30 hours free childcare in England are encouraged to re-confirm their eligibility as normal.
More information can be found here.
Mental Health Support
This is, by no means, an easy time for us mental health wise. I have put together a mental health resource package that you may find useful here. Do share this with employees, friends, and family members.
Take care,
Holly
