Small Business Support | COVID-19
Support for you and your business during COVID-19
We are committed to helping you and your business through these difficult times. This dedicated page will be updated regularly as new information becomes available to help you and your business with practical tips, resources and links to the official guidance and information on the available support from the UK Government.
Running your business during COVID-19
Government support package:
The following measures have been introduced to support small businesses. See the full details of who’s eligible and how to access support on the UK Government’s website.
- 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.
- deferring VAT and Income Tax payments VAT payments suspended for 3 months and Income Tax payments until January 2021.
- Statutory Sick Pay relief package for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs)
- a 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses in England
- small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief and grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
- Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank
- a new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans
- a HMRC’s Time To Pay Scheme arrangements are agreed on a case-by-case basis and are tailored to individual circumstances and liabilities.
Newly announced government support for self-employed:
The government has also introduced the following help for the self-employed:
- Deferral of Self Assessment Income Tax payments due in July 2020 and VAT payments due from 20 March 2020 until 30 June 2020.
- Grants for businesses that pay little or no business rates
- Increased amounts of Universal Credit
- Business Interruption Loan Scheme
- Directors of their own company paid through PAYE, may be able to get support using the Job Retention Scheme.
Off-payroll working rules reforms (IR35) postponed until 2021
The Government has postponed plans to extend IR35 rules to large or medium-sized organisations outside the public sector until 6 April 2021. The rules still apply to the public sector.
Business Support FAQs
Still not sure how the Government is supporting you? Visit their Business Support FAQs page.
