07 January 2022
2022 updates & COVID schemes for you and your business
Services:
Funding and Asset Finance
With the impact of the pandemic still hitting businesses in many sectors in 2022, the government are reintroducing or extending certain schemes to help businesses through the uncertainty that 2022 still holds. Below is our ‘round up’ of schemes that may be available to help you and your business in the coming months.
Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme
This scheme will be reintroduced from mid-January 2022. Employers can claim for employees’ coronavirus-related Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for absences occurring from 21 December 2021 onwards.
Eligibility for the SSP rebate scheme
This scheme is for employers with fewer than 250 employees. You can claim back up to 2 weeks of SSP if you comply with the following criteria:
- You are UK based.
- You have already paid your employee's sick pay.
- You're claiming for an employee who is eligible for sick pay due to coronavirus.
- You have a PAYE payroll system as of 30 November 2021.
- You had fewer than 250 employees as of 30 November 2021.
Records you need to keep
You must keep records for 3 years after the date you receive the payment for your claim of SSP that you've paid and want to claim back from HMRC. These records should cover:
- The dates the employee was off sick.
- Which of those dates were qualifying days.
- The reason they said they were off work.
- The employee's National Insurance number.
How to apply
You must pay your employees’ sick pay before you can claim it back. The claim can be made via HMRC online (from mid-January onwards).
If you use an accountant or third party who is authorised to PAYE online for you, they can claim on your behalf.
If you’re unable to claim online, then contact HMRC if you don’t receive a letter from them.
HMRC will be producing more guidance on the scheme in the coming week or two, but for now you can get more information here.
Local Authority Grant Funding
The government has recently announced support for businesses that have been negatively impacted by the Omicron variant.
Grants of up to £6,000 are available to those in hospitality, leisure and accommodation who have suffered a decrease in custom due to the Omicron variant.
The value of the grant is dependent on the businesses rateable value and further information in relation to the grant and how to apply can be found here.
Recovery Loan Scheme
The recovery loan scheme launched in April 2021 and its availability has been extended to June 2022, but from 1st January 2022 there are some important changes that should be noted (see those in bold and italics below).
Overview
The Recovery Loan Scheme supports access to finance for UK businesses as they grow and recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Recovery Loan Scheme is currently open to small and medium sized enterprises to support them to access loans and other kinds of finance so they can recover after the pandemic and transition period.
Up to £2 million is available per business. The actual amount offered, and the terms are at the discretion of participating lenders.
The government guarantees 70% of the finance to the lender. As the borrower, you are always 100% liable for the debt.
Loans are available through a network of accredited lenders, listed on the British Business Bank’s website.
Eligibility
You can apply for a loan if your business is trading in the UK.
You need to show that your business:
- would be viable were it not for the pandemic
- has been adversely impacted by the pandemic
- is not in collective insolvency proceedings (unless your business is in scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol in which case different eligibility rules may apply)
Business that received support under the earlier COVID-19 guaranteed loan schemes are still eligible to access finance under this scheme if they meet all other eligibility criteria.
What you can get
- term loans or overdrafts of between £25,001 and £10 million per business
- invoice or asset finance of between £1,000 and £10 million per business
No personal guarantees will be taken on facilities up to £250,000, and a borrower’s principal private residence cannot be taken as security.
How long the loan is for?
The maximum length of the facility depends on the type of finance you apply for and will be:
- up to 3 years for overdrafts and invoice finance facilities
- up to 6 years for loans and asset finance facilities
How to apply
Find a lender accredited to offer Recovery Loans from the list on the British Business Bank website.
Help to Grow: Management Course
The Help to Grow: Management Course supports senior managers of small and medium sized businesses to boost their business’ performance, resilience, and long-term growth.
The 12-week programme is designed to be taken alongside full-time work through a combination of online sessions and face-to-face learning.
The curriculum will support you to build your capabilities in leadership, innovation, digital adoption, employee engagement, marketing, responsible business, and financial management.
By the end of the programme you will develop a business growth plan to help you lead your business to release its potential.
The programme is 90% funded by the government so you only pay £750.
Eligibility
- Businesses based in UK (charities are not eligible)
- Any sector
- Operating for more than 1 year
- Should have 5 to 249 employees
Help to Grow: Digital Course
A digital scheme to help 100,000 SMEs save time and money by adopting productivity enhancing software, transforming the way they do business.
Small businesses will be able to get free impartial advice on how technology can boost their performance through a new online platform.
This will combine a voucher covering up to 50% of the costs of approved software up to a maximum of £5,000 (approved software is any that supports customer relationships and increases sales, makes the most of selling online and manage their accounts and finances digitally).
Eligibility
All businesses will be able to benefit from free online advice on the platform.
The voucher is expected to be available to UK businesses that:
- Employ between 5 and 249 employees and are registered at Companies House
- Have been trading for more than 12 months
- Are purchasing the discounted software for the first time
The scheme is currently in a BETA trial and all eligible businesses will be able to apply from January 2022. .
Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG)
Local authorities in England have been given an additional £500 million discretionary funding to support their local businesses.
This is in addition to £1.1 billion discretionary funding (worth £20 per head of population) which local authorities in England have already received to support their local economies and help businesses impacted.
Local councils have the freedom to determine the eligibility criteria for these grants. Businesses which are severely impacted by the restrictions could include:
- Businesses which supply the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors
- Businesses in the tourism and events sectors
- Business required to close but which do not pay business rates
Contact your local authority for further details.
We’re sure that as the year progresses, the government will continue to assess the impact of Covid on UK businesses. We’ll keep you informed of any further developments on these schemes or other schemes available to your business.
Check if you are eligible here.
In the meantime, if there are any areas where we can help, please do get in touch with our offices in Chester , Wirral or Liverpool.
