News Blog Careers Community Subscribe Search Home Invest Partner Influence Resources About Contact COVID-19 Resources and information for our customers In this section COVID-19 This page covers all the areas for which customers can access support from the government and the wider sector in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak. For more information on the measures detailed below, visit the dedicated government guidance on support for businesses here. This page will be updated regularly to reflect any new developments or announcements. If you have any questions please contact Will Thomson (will.thomson@sibgroup.org.uk) or Miranda Love (Miranda.Love@sibgroup.org.uk) National Covid Guidance England has moved to Step 4 of the roadmap. Everyone should be cautious while managing the risks as cases of COVID-19 remain high. Find out what you should do to protect yourself and others. Find out more on the rules here. Businesses and venues Further venues are permitted to open. You can visit indoor venues in a group of up to 6 people from different households or a larger group of any size from up to 2 households including support bubbles. COVID-secure rules, including social distancing requirements, continue to apply in the workplace, and in businesses and public venues. Businesses and venues which can reopen All remaining closed businesses and venues such as nightclubs and adult entertainment venues are able to reopen. All capacity limits at sporting, entertainment, or business events have been lifted. Hospitality venues such as pubs, restaurants and bars are no longer required to provide table service or follow other social distancing rules. All businesses should follow the principles set out in the working safely guidance. Whilst the Government is no longer instructing people to work from home if they can, the Government would expect and recommend a gradual return over the summer. Government Business Support Summary of existing economic support: overview of Government support for business and self-employed people during coronavirus. Coronavirus Guidance and Support: full collection of guidance and support for businesses during Covid-19. Support Finder Tool: The Government has a support finder tool to help charities, businesses and self-employed people across the UK to determine what financial support is available to them during the Covid-19 pandemic. Job Retention Scheme: The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended until 30 September 2021. From 1 July 2021, the government will pay 70% of wages up to a maximum cap of £2,187.50 for the hours the employee is on furlough. From 1 August 2021, the government will pay 60% of wages up to a maximum cap of £1,875 for the hours the employee is on furlough. For claims from 1 July 2021, employers must top up their employees’ wages to make sure they receive 80% of their wages (up to £2,500) for the hours they are on furlough. The caps are proportional to the hours not worked. Find out more about how the scheme is changing. NEW: Lockdown Grants for Businesses in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Sectors: On 5 January 2021, The Chancellor has announced £4.6 billion in new one-off lockdown grants will be made available to support businesses and protect jobs through to the Spring. the one-off top up grants are for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses and will be worth up to £9,000 per property £594 million discretionary fund also made available to support other impacted businesses comes in addition to £1.1 billion further discretionary grant funding for Local Authorities, Local Restriction Support Grants worth up to £3,000 a month and extension of furlough scheme This follows the Prime Minister’s announcement on 4 January 2021 that these business will be closed until at least February half-term in order to help control the virus, and, together with the wide range of existing support, provides them with certainty through the Spring period. The cash is provided on a per-property basis to support businesses through the latest restrictions, and is expected to benefit over 600,000 business properties, worth £4 billion in total across all nations of the UK. The one-off top-ups will be granted to closed businesses as follows: £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000 any business which is legally required to close, and which cannot operate effectively remotely, is eligible for a grant Additional Restrictions Grant: Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) supports businesses that are not covered by other grant schemes or where additional funding is needed. Local councils have the freedom to determine the eligibility criteria for these grants. However, we expect the funding to help those businesses which – while not legally forced to close – are nonetheless severely impacted by the restrictions. Businesses should visit their local council’s website to find out how to apply. This could include: businesses which supply the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors businesses in the events sector business required to close but which do not pay business rates Kickstarter Scheme: this scheme provides funding to employers to create job placements for 16-24-year olds on Universal Credit. Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers 100% of National Minimum Wage / National Living Wage for 25 hours per week for 6 months; associated employer National Insurance contributions; and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions. Financial Support for Charities and Social Enterprises Grants Online Coronavirus: comprehensive resource that is regularly updated with new funding programmes to assist organisations in responding to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. Government Guidance for Organisations The Government has published guidance for organisations working in specific sectors which might be relevant to SIB customers, these can be accessed below: Guidance for the charity sector COVID-19 guidance for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations Financial support for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to respond to Covid-19 Guidance for employers and businesses on coronavirus Guidance for social or community care and residential settings Guidance for education settings Guidance for public bodies or local authorities on procurement Coronavirus outbreak FAQs: what you can and can’t do Guidance on closing certain businesses and venues Guidance on processing ticket refunds for cancelled charity events during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic Coronavirus (COVID-19): increased risk of fraud and cybercrime against charities. Guidance: A list of rules that have been temporarily relaxed to help businesses during the pandemic Guidance for businesses seeking to help voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak Sector guidance on social distancing in the workplace during COVID-19 Additional Resources and Advice Bates Wells – Coronavirus Legal Insights for charities and social enterprises Charity Bank – COVID-19 Resource Hub for Charities and Social Enterprises Co-operatives UK Covid-19 HR Advice Charity Excellence Framework – COVID-19 Funder Database & Toolkits Charity Finance Group – COVID-19 guidance for charities Charity Tax Group – Coronavirus Information Hub Cooperatives UK – COVID-19 advice for co-ops Fundraising Regulator – COVID-19 public fundraising guidance Institute of Fundraising – COVID-19 Guidance Locality – COVID-19 information and support hub NCVO – Coronavirus guidance and resources SEUK – Coronavirus support and resources Latest news Keep up to date with our most recent news and updates. 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