Government Updates

Key dates for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) 

• Submit your CJRS claim for periods ending on or before 30‌‌‌ ‌June 2020 by 31‌‌‌ ‌July 2020. This is the last date you can make those claims. You need to have made a claim at any point on or before 31‌‌‌ ‌July to be able to make a claim for future months.
• From 1‌‌‌ ‌August 2020 the scheme will no longer fund employers’ National Insurance (NI) and pensions contributions for furloughed employees. You will have to make these payments from your own resources.
• From 1‌‌‌ ‌September 2020 you will have to start contributing to the wages of your furloughed employees. Grants will be for 70% of usual wages in September and 60% in October, but furloughed employees will continue to be entitled to receive at least 80% of their usual wages. You will have to make up the difference from your own resources.

Business events and conferences to resume in October

The government has announced that business events and conferences will be permitted to resume from 1st October in England provided rates of infection remain at current levels.

The sector is currently worth approximately £32.6 billion to the UK each year and represented a quarter of the 38 million international visits to the UK in 2018.

A number of pilots at event venues around the country will be organised to plan for the return of large-scale events and test how to implement social distancing practises. Details of these pilots will be finalised in the coming weeks.

Guidance on working safely in the visitor economy has been updated to include business events and consumer shows.

Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston said:

“Business events and conferences are a key part of our visitor economy and this is an important step in getting them back up and running safely.

“Pilots will help inform our plans for the return of the sector in October with guests and staff adhering to social distancing and measures introduced to reduce close contact.

The UK has a great reputation in staging fantastic events that help drive growth for many different sectors and this will give the business event sector the certainty it needs to plan for the future.”

New framework announced to contain COVID-19 locally

The government has laid out a new framework giving national and local authorities additional powers to slow the spread of COVID-19. National and local government will have the power to restrict local public gatherings and events, and close local businesses premises and outdoor spaces. The new powers went into effect on 18 July.

The government will also be publishing a weekly watchlist summary of specific areas of concern, areas receiving enhanced support from NHS Test and Trace, and areas where national interventions are being taken, as determined by Department of Health and Social Care ministers and the Chief Medical Officer at the Local Action Committee.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said:

“We’re setting out a new framework and local powers to further help local leaders across England protect their communities from coronavirus. They have the full support of NHS Test and Trace alongside these new powers and will receive help with specific interventions, including additional testing as needed, to prevent the transmission of the virus in their community.

We continue to rely on the public’s support to protect against new cases, getting a test if they experience symptoms, and following the advice they receive from NHS Test and Trace.”