There have been a couple of changes to some of the Governmental initiatives for financial assistance. These are:

1. Furloughing employees - dates have changed, this has now been extended to the end of June, plus the furlough date has been extended to the 19th March instead of 28th February 2020. However, those employees that moved jobs in between those dates, paid monthly and at the end of the month may still miss out at being paid on furlough as an RTI has to have been lodged by the employer before employees can included. This is set to change though, so watch this space.
2. Employees on fixed term contracts - where fixed term contracts are coming to an end or have ended, the furloughing rules still apply. Therefore, employers should extend contracts or remploy employees in order to keep continuation until such times as the scheme ends.
3. Sales commission stated in contracts - if sales commission, fees or guaranteed overtime is stated in employment contracts then these should be included in furloughed wages. Discretionary income, including tips, tronc or bonuses not stated in the employment contract should NOT be included.
4. Self Employed Income Support (SEIS) - now that the portal has opened for furloughed employees, HMRC are working on getting the forms ready for those of us who are self employed. Those of us that are considered to be eligible will receive notification, but we're not sure if this will be via email or letter presently. Payments are expected to be made in June. There is also the likelihood that this too will be extended to the end of June in line with furloughed employees.
5. Self Assessments - the deadline for getting your 2018/19 self assessment into HMRC in order to be eligible for the (SEIS) was the 23rd April 2020. Government and HMRC are currently being lobbied by accountancy bodies to extend this deadline.
6. Newly self employed - as of yet there is no change, unless you're based in Scotland. There is no change as of yet, but the Government are still being lobbied on this point.
7. Limited Company Directors - no update at the moment.
8. Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) - there has been additional pressure on the Government this week to change the existing legislation surrounding CBILS and the ability to access them by those who need it the most. There has been talk of the Government guaranteeing loans at 100% in order to relieve the pressure on lenders and shareholders who were considering their liability should loans not be repaid. We'll have to wait and see what happens with this.
9. More lenders available - CBILS had a number of lenders, mostly high street banks, approved to get the money to the businesses that needed it, these have now increased so your ability to get a loan may also be increased as a result.

• based in the UK;
• can attract equivalent match funding from third-party private investors and institutions;
• have previously raised at least £250,000 in equity investment from third-party investors in the last 5 years.

For more information follow the link: Future Fund - Headline Terms

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