COVID-19 Government Support News: 21st June 2021

Claim for Wages Through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Information about changes from 1 July 2021 has been added and claims for furlough days in June 2021 must be made by 14 July 2021.

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.

Employers will top up employees’ wages to make sure they receive 80% of wages (up to £2,500) in total for the hours the employee is on furlough. The caps are proportional to the hours not worked.

Click here to read more. 

Kickstart Scheme Grant

If you are an employer looking to create jobs for young people, you can apply for funding as part of the Kickstart Scheme.

The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create new jobs for 16 to 24-year-olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long-term unemployment.

Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers:

• 100% of the National Minimum Wage (or the National Living Wage depending on the age of the participant) for 25 hours per week for a total of 6 months.
• Associated employer National Insurance contributions.
• Minimum automatic enrolment pension contributions.

Employers can spread the job start dates up until 31 December 2021. You will get funding until 30 June 2022 if a young person starts their job on 31 December 2021.

Further funding is available to provide support so that young people on the scheme can get a job in the future.

There is now a link to a video walkthrough of the online application in the ‘How to apply – Apply online’ section.

Click here to apply for a Kickstart Scheme grant. 

Kickstart Scheme Employer Resources

If you have been offered Kickstart Scheme funding, you can use these resources to show your support for the scheme.

Welcome Back Fund - England

The Welcome Back Fund is providing councils across England a share of £56 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to support the safe return to high streets and help build back better from the pandemic. This funding builds on the £50 million Reopening High Street Safely Fund (RHSSF) allocated to councils in 2020.

Version 2 of the guidance and FAQ have now been added.

The guidance to help local authorities and partners to deliver activities supported through the Welcome Back Fund can be seen here.

Local Restrictions Support Grants (LRSG), Restart Grant, Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG): Guidance for Local Authorities

This is guidance for local authorities on paying grants to support businesses during national lockdown periods and periods of local restrictions.

Changes have been made for the ARG guidance as Step 4 of the roadmap out of restrictions has been delayed for up to 4 weeks. The government have updated the guidance to account for this and extended the spending allocation deadline to 30 July 2021.

Click here to read more. 

Check if You're Eligible for the Coronavirus Additional Restrictions Grant

The 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, the government expect the funding to help businesses that are severely impacted by the restrictions.

Local councils are encouraged to support:

• Businesses from all sectors that may have been severely impacted by restrictions but are not eligible for the Restart Grant scheme, including those which do not pay business rates.
• Businesses from sectors that remain closed or severely impacted by the extended restrictions, even if those businesses have already been in receipt of Restart Grants. This may include the travel and tourism sector, wedding industries, nightclubs, theatres, events industries, wholesalers, English language schools, breweries, freelance and mobile businesses including caterers, events, hair, beauty and wedding related businesses.

Click here to check if you're eligible for the Coronavirus Additional Resources Grant.