A summary of available lockdown support every business owner should be aware of (5 minutes read time)

There have been so many different support measures introduced since the start of the pandemic, that it's become increasingly difficult to keep track of what's available.

Below its a brief summary of key COVID support measures introduced by the UK government.

The schemes listed are in place at the time of writing this article (Feb 21) – changes are expected in the next budget set for 3rd March 2021.

Furlough (AKA Coronavirus job retention scheme)

The scheme is in place until 30th April 2021 (we are expecting an update to this date in the March 2021 budget)

Key points:

-       Scheme pays 80% of employees’ wages (capped at £2,500 /month)

-       Staff can be furloughed on a part-time basis

-       Furlough can include the payroll salary of company directors (criteria applies)

-       Employer’s NI & Pension contributions (where they apply) still need to be paid

-       Nothing can be claimed for the period before 31st October 2020 (applications have now closed)

Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS)

The Nov 20 to Jan 21 grant was calculated at 80% of three months’ average trading profits per month and capped at £7,500 (paid in a single instalment).

Applications for this period are now closed but a fourth-round announcement (covering Feb 2021 to Apr 2021) is expected in the March 2021 budget.

Bounce Back Loans

Most SMB business owners will be familiar by now with bounce back loans. However, to recap:

-       Loans range from £2,000 up to 25% of a business’s sales revenue (the loan is capped at £50,000)

-       No repayments are due for first 12 months (and a further 6 months can be requested should the borrower require – so an 18-month potential payment holiday in total)

-       The Government covers the first 12 months interest payments

-       The interest rate for the facility is set at 2.5% per annum

-       The term length of the loan is set at 6 years (with the option to extend to 10 years if needs be. No early repayment penalties apply)

Further concessions announced in Feb21:

·      Can move to interest only payments for 6 months at a time (this can be done up to 3 times)

·      Can pause payments for 6 months – this can be done once only

Additional Restrictions Grant

This support is provided via local councils and is designed to help businesses that have been majorly impacted by the lockdown.

Eligibility is determined at a local level, but it is expected that the grant helps businesses that have not been legally forced to close yet have suffered severely from the lockdown.

It is likely that your local council will want to see some evidence of a drop-in turnover as well as evidence of fixed costs within the business (e.g. rent, business rates etc).

Contact your local council directly for more details (applications can typically be made online).

Quick tip:

Be sure to sign up to regular updates from your local council so you can be made aware of any extra funding which becomes available.