Today is an important date in the support programme for businesses.
Applications are NOW OPEN for the Coronavirus Job Retention (Furlough) Scheme and the £25k Grant Scheme for Hospitality, Tourism, Retail and Leisure Businesses.
You can find further information on both schemes below.
On Wednesday 22nd April 2020 at 6:30pm, we have the second in our series of webinars for members.
Our President, Emma Mullen-Marmion will host a session on the HR Challenge of COVID-19. If your are interest in joining us, you can find details below on how to register for this FREE webinar.
I hope you find these updates of value. If you have any queries which you can’t get answered, let us know. If I can, I will cover them in our next update.
You can contact me at:
colm@newrychamber.com
Stay safe.
Colm Shannon,
Chief Executive Officer
Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade
CORONAVIRUS JOB RETENTION (FURLOUGH) SCHEME OPEN
The Furlough Scheme is NOW OPEN for applications and you can claim to cover 80% of the wages for a furloughed worker, up to £2,500 a month.
A claim through the Furlough Scheme will also cover Employer National Insurance and Pension Contributions, if you have put any employee on “furlough” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Check that you have the following, as you will need it before making a claim:
1. A Government Gateway (GG) ID and Password.
If you don’t already have a GG account, you can apply here.
2. Be Enrolled For PAYE Online.
If you aren’t registered yet, you can enrol online here.
WHEN YOU MAKE A CLAIM
Prepare the following information, as you’ll need it to make a claim:
1. The bank account number and sort code, you’d like HMRC to use when it pays your claim.
2. The name and phone number of the person in your business for HMRC to call with any questions.
3. Your Self-Assessment UTR (Unique Tax Reference), Company UTR or CRN (Company Registration Number).
4. The following info for each furloughed employee you will be claiming for:
- Name
- National Insurance Number
- The Total Furlough Period
- The Total Amount Being Claimed
5. PAYE/Employee Number.
- If you have fewer than 100 furloughed staff, you will need to input information directly into the system for each employee.
- If you have 100 or more furloughed staff, you will need to upload a file with information for each employee, .xls .xlsx .csv . ods file types will be accepted.
USING AN AGENT TO MAKE YOUR CLAIM
If you use an agent who is authorised to act for you for PAYE purposes, they will be able to make a claim on your behalf (using their ID and password), so speak to them now.
Also, you will need to tell your agent which UK bank account you want the grant to be paid into, in order to ensure the funds are quickly as possible to you.
You should keep all records and calculations relating to your claims.
However, if you are a file-only agent (files your RTI return but doesn’t act for you in other matters), they won’t be able to make a claim for you and you’ll need the information listed above from them to make the claim yourself.
FURTHER GUIDANCE ON THE SCHEME
For further guidance on the scheme, see how to claim for wage costs through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme here.
You can also view a recorded webinar about the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme on the HMRC YouTube Channel here.
ELIGIBILITY DATE CHANGED TO 19TH MARCH 2020
Staff originally had to be employed on 28th February to qualify for the scheme.
New guidance has confirmed the eligibility date has been extended to 19th March.
Employers can claim for furloughed employees that were employed and on their PAYE payroll on or before 19th March.
This means that the employee must have been notified to HMRC through an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before 19th March.
YOU CAN APPLY FOR THE FURLOUGH SCHEME HERE.
£25k HOSPITALITY, TOURISM & RETAIL GRANT SCHEME OPEN
The £25,000 Hospitality, Tourism & Retail Grant Scheme is NOW OPEN for applications and will take approximately 15 working days to process, subject to verification of eligibility, before payment is issued.
You can view the full list of eligible businesses/properties HERE.
You will need the following before making a claim for the £25k Grant Scheme:
– Rate Payer ID
– Occupancy ID
YOU APPLY FOR THE £25,000 GRANT SCHEME HERE.
THIS SCHEME WILL CLOSE ON WEDNESDAY 20TH MAY 2020.
FREE WORKSHOPS – NMD BUSINESS GROWTH PROGRAMME
As the uncertainty of the Coronavirus situation continues to evolve at pace, the NMD Business Growth Programme has developed a series of FREE online programmes to help your businesses through the COVID-19 period with a host of business support advice across the following areas:
- COVID-19 Is Here – What Now For Small Businesses?
- Managing Self in a Rapidly Changing World.
- Preparing a 10-Day Cashflow Projection.
- Social Media Fundamentals.
- Managing Stress.
- Gearing Up To Sell a Service on YouTube.
- Getting Your Business Online For Beginners.
- SEO & Google Analytics – Optimising Online Performance.
This series of remote skills development workshops has been announced to give businesses the support and information they need.
The series will comprise of 8 workshops to be delivered remotely via Zoom, which will be open to all businesses in the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Area, including past and present participants of the NMD Business Growth Programme.
The first workshop entitled, COVID-19 Is Here – So What Now For Small Businesses will take place on Wednesday 29th April 2020 from 4pm – 6pm.
VIEW THE FULL LIST OF WORKSHOPS & REGISTER HERE.