Although many people have spent much of 2020 working from home, news of a vaccine has prompted a great deal of discussion about the future of the office. Much of the media, including business focused channels such as LinkedIn, have been full of philosophers predicting the demise of traditional office space. But just how realistic […]
As the Government continues to grapple with balancing the economy and the provision of further financial support, ‘unprecedented’ seems to have been replaced by ‘viable’ as the most frequently used buzz word – specifically when related to jobs and businesses. There is much talk about avoiding pumping more taxpayer cash into jobs or businesses that […]
Whilst there no longer appears to be anything that is truly unusual in the current climate, the Chancellor took the unusual decision to cancel November’s planned budget statement and delivered a Winter Economy Plan in its place. This move once again underlines the lack of long-term certainty that the Covid pandemic is enforcing on the […]
It is very difficult to find many positives arising from the Covid pandemic and ever rarer still that HMRC should be seen to be leading the charge on anything, but the increase in digital transaction handling must be the one item that can tick both of these boxes. With the UK workforce, and many overseas […]
Following a spate of tip-offs that the Covid-19 support schemes put in place by The Government may have been subject to excessive claims from a number of workers and employers, moves are now being made to investigate claims, recover overpaid support grants and levy penalty charges where appropriate. Self-employed individuals, and employers, have 90 days […]
In a much anticipated ‘emergency budget’ announcement, The Chancellor set out a series of targeted measures to boost aspects of the economy, struggling in a post Covid environment. Whilst it is expected that some sectors will not be able to recover for some months yet due to the continued need for social distancing, Rishi Sunak […]
At the summer statement on Wednesday 8 July 2020, the Chancellor announced a handful of measures that he felt would help create jobs and mitigate the formal end to the furlough scheme. Before announcing the measures, Mr Sunak made it clear that the Jobs Retention Scheme could not and should not go on forever, even […]
I was recently asked whether we had witnessed any corporate ‘casualties’ as a result of the Covid pandemic, the answer to which was, I am pleased to report, no. However, I fully accept that being early June, we are far from clear of the woods and still remain in a somewhat cosseted environment, with the […]
HMRC has started contacting self-employed individuals they think could be eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), based on the information provided in 2018 to 2019 tax returns. To help identify who is eligible, HMRC is inviting people to use an online checker, which will quickly confirm eligibility and then provide a specific date […]
If you are self-employed and the Covid-19 pandemic has hit your income and/or contracts, here are 5 things you can do to access support and mitigate the impact: 1. Apply to the Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) The scheme will support self-employed individuals (including members of partnerships) whose income has been negatively impacted by COVID-19. […]
If your personal circumstances have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, here are 3 ways that you can try to ease the financial burden. 1. Take a rent or mortgage holiday All major mortgage lenders will provide you with a 3-Month repayment holiday. However, you should remember that this is not a reduction in your […]
If you own a business and/or employ staff via a PAYE scheme, and the Covid-19 pandemic has hit your business, here are 5 things you can do to access support and mitigate the impact: 1. Apply to Furlough your employees via the Job Retention Scheme. Furloughing your staff means the government will support you in […]