National Lockdown Thursday 5th November – Wednesday 2nd December

Posted on November 4th, 2020

National lockdown announced by Government

These new national lockdown restrictions mean that from 5 November: 

• People will be required to stay at home and are only allowed to leave home for specific reasons including education, work if you cannot work from home, for exercise and outdoor recreation with your household or on your own with one person from another household, for medical reasons appointments and to escape injury or harm, to shop for food and essentials and to provide care for vulnerable people, or as a volunteer 
• Non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment venues will be required to close –though click and collect services can continue and essential shops will remain open 
• Workplaces should stay open where people can’t work from home – for example in the construction or manufacturing sectors. 
• Single adult households can still form exclusive support bubbles with one other household, and children will still be able to move between homes if their parents are separated 

For full lockdown information; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november

Furlough scheme extended and additional Covid-19 Economic Support measures announced

In Saturday’s announcement, the Prime Minister announced additional financial support in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This package of support includes: 

• An extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) – also known as the furlough scheme. This will now remain open until December with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500. Under the extended scheme the cost for employers of retaining workers will be reduced. Businesses will have flexibility to bring furloughed employees back to work on a part time basis or furlough them full-time, and will only be asked to cover National Insurance and employer pensions contributions which, for the average claim, accounting for just 5% of total employment costs. 
• Mortgage Holidays – Mortgage payment holidays have been extended. Borrowers who have been impacted by coronavirus and have not yet had a mortgage payment holiday will be entitled to a six month holiday, and those that have already started a mortgage payment holiday will be able to top up to six months without this being recorded in their credit file. 
• Business grants – businesses required to close in England due to national restrictions will be eligible for business grants. For further information, contact your local authority.
• Self Employed Income Support Scheme – If you are self-employed and your business has been significantly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, you may be able to benefit from the extension of SEISS. An extra six months have been added to the scheme in two three-month periods; 01 November 2020 to 31 January 2021 and again between 01 February 2021 through to 30 April 2021. You will be able to claim 40% of your average monthly profits up to £3,750 per three-month period.
• Bounce Back Loan Scheme – Available for small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and up to 25% of their turnover. There will be no interest to pay for the first 12 months of the loans. Applications close on 30 November 2020.

For full financial support information; https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/worker-support