During this difficult time, businesses are making tough decisions to ensure their survival. Before making any challenging changes to your company, we would urge you to look at the unprecedented emergency measures government have put in place to help.
Shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments as well as hotels, boarding premises and self-catering accommodation, which make up a large proportion of businesses in Paddington, are the focus of government measures, designed to help businesses like yours.
The business support most relevant to Paddington BID is as follows:
Cash Grants
- If your business is in the retail, hospitality or leisure sector, you will receive a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property.
- Businesses in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of up to £15,000 may be eligible for a grant of £10,000.
- Businesses in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 may be eligible for a grant of £25,000.
- You do not need to do anything; your local authority will write to you if you are eligible for the grant.
- Click here to find out if you are eligible for the grant
Business Rates Relief
- If your business is in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England you will not have to pay business rates for the 2020-21 tax year.
- Most businesses in Paddington should be eligible. Click here to find out if you are eligible Further details on eligibility are set out in the expanded retail discount guidance.
Job Retention Scheme
- Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers with a PAYE scheme that was created and started on or before 28 February 2020, will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis.
- This applies to employees who have been asked to stop working, but who are being kept on the pay roll, otherwise described as ‘furloughed workers’.
- HMRC will pay employers a grant worth 80% of an employee’s usual wage costs, up to £2,500 a month, plus the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contributions on that subsidised wage. This is to safeguard workers from being made redundant. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will cover the cost of wages backdated to March 1stif applicable and is initially open for 3 months, but will be extended if necessary.
- Most businesses in the Paddington BID should be eligible. Click here to find out more.
If you are unsure of your eligibility due to unique circumstances please feel free to contact us and we will do our best to help or represent you as part of our lobbying for BIDs at government level.
