Covid-19

WELSH GOVERNMENT SUPPORT TO BUSINESSES 

UPDATE - 24 March 2020

Please find brief details of the latest announcement for support available to small businesses to help them during the coronavirus outbreak.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those employees that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis, all UK businesses are eligible.

To access the scheme businesses will need to :

· designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers,’ and notify your employees of this change - changing the status of employees remains subject to existing employment law and, depending on the employment contract, may be subject to negotiation

· submit information to HMRC about the employees that have been furloughed and their earnings through a new online portal, this portal is not yet in place and we will publish details as soon as they are available (HMRC will set out further details on the information required)

HMRC will reimburse 80% of furloughed workers wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month. HMRC are working urgently to set up a system for reimbursement. Existing systems are not set up to facilitate payments to employers   

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Please also see the attached link to Business Wales website which includes all information and advice currently available from Welsh Government including further details of schemes announced in the Chancellor’s Statement on 20 March 2020.