Portsmouth City Council:
Any employer or business locally affected by the coronavirus crisis is encouraged to contact the city council’s Business Support Team at their dedicated business support line on 023 9284 1641, Monday to Friday.
Lots of information can also be found here
Advice from the HMRC:
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Under Tier 4 restrictions, people are being asked to stay at home unless they cannot work from home, and more businesses are now required to close. HMRC is reminding employers that support is available through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
If employers cannot maintain their workforce because their business has been affected by coronavirus COVID-19, they may be able to furlough employees and claim 80% of an employee’s usual salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month.
Employers and employees do not need to have benefited from the scheme before to make a claim, if they meet the eligibility criteria. Employers can check if they can claim for their employee’s wages on GOV.UK
It’s very important that any business that decides to use CJRS for December, submits their claim by 14 January 2021. If employers have already submitted their claim for December, but now need to make a change because Tier 4 restrictions mean they didn’t claim enough, they can increase the amount of their claim for December up until Thursday 28 January. Further details for this can be found on GOV.UK
HMRC’s phone lines and webchat remain very busy, so where possible businesses should wait until after the 29 December to do this. This will leave our phone lines and webchat service open for those who need to amend their November claims by the 29 December deadline.
HMRC are running webinars to help explain to businesses how to claim for CJRS, including several before the next 14 January deadline. This webinar gives an overview of:
- the extension of the scheme
- how employers will be affected
- flexible furloughing
- key dates
- support available
Businesses can register for one of these webinars on GOV.UK
SEISS:
Self-employed individuals, or members of partnerships may be eligible to make a claim under the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). You cannot claim the grant if you trade through a limited company or a trust.
To make a claim, a business must have had a new or continuing impact from coronavirus between 1 November 2020 and 29 January 2021, which they reasonably believe will have a significant reduction in profits. Businesses must also have traded in both tax years 2019 to 2020, and 2018 to 2019.People can check whether they might be eligible for SEISS on GOV.UK
People can check how trading conditions affect their eligibility for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme on GOV.UK
As with CJRS, we are offering webinars which explain to people how to apply for SEISS. These are available on GOV.UK
Further information:
A full list of UK government support is available on GOV.UK
