Furlough Scheme

Oct- 2020 -

7 October

Businesses must check furlough inaccuracies before HMRC deadline

Businesses using the furlough scheme have been urged to “thoroughly check” their claims for inaccuracies before HMRC’s cut-off date to avoid the risk of fines or prosecution. Accountancy firm Kilsby Williams issued the warning after HMRC sent letters to a growing number of businesses to inform them of potential errors…

Sep- 2020 -

24 September

Coronavirus

Chancellor set to unveil furlough replacement after Budget cancellation

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has cancelled this year’s Budget but is set to unveil new measures aimed at protecting employment and the UK economy in parliament later today (24 September). It is thought the new measures will replace the current furlough scheme, which is set to expire at the end of…

14 September

Coronavirus

700,000 jobs at risk as end of furlough scheme draws near

Over 700,000 employees are at risk of being made redundant in the second half of 2020, research from Institute for Employment Studies (IES) has revealed. IES estimates that some 650 thousand redundancies are expected in the second half of 2020, with 445 thousand redundancies in the three months between July…

14 September

Coronavirus

Insolvent companies cost taxpayers £250m

Insolvent companies that were unable to pay their debts in the first six months of 2020 have cost British taxpayers almost £250m, according to Altus Group. The software group found that the amount paid to former members of staff was up by £133.79m in the period against the prior year,…

10 September

Coronavirus

125,500 retail jobs lost since start of 2020

Some 125,515 retail jobs have been lost since the start of 2020, according to the latest data from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR). Of this figure, 43,381 jobs were lost through administrations, 10,556 through CVAs and 71,578 through rationalisation schemes. The UK’s embattled high street has also seen the…

8 September

Economy

UK retail sales increase by 4.7% in August

UK retail sales in August have increased by 4.7% on a like-for-like basis from August 2019, according to figures released in BRC-KPMG’s Retail Sales Monitor report for the month. Overall sales increased by 3.9% in the period, in comparison to a decline of 0.4% in August 2019. This is above…

7 September

Economy

GDP to contract £15.3bn each year if home working persists

Lower consumer spending and a decrease in economic clustering if pandemic levels of home working persist would reduce UK GDP by £15.3bn every year, according to new research published by PwC. The ‘Big Four’ accountancy firm said the hit to consumption is a result of office workers spending fewer days…

3 September

Features

HMRC and Covid-19: One hand giveth, the other taketh away

One hand giveth HMRC was responsible for overseeing and implementing the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”) and other furlough schemes. Its ensuring that monies were paid under the Government’s various furlough support schemes has been impressive. Although the guidance on who was entitled to monies under the CJRS was…

Aug- 2020 -

26 August

Retailers

Retail jobs in sharpest fall since 2009

Retail employment fell at the fastest rate since February 2009 in the year to August, with an even sharper decline anticipated in the year to September, according to the CBI’s latest monthly Distributive Trades Survey. The survey – which featured 63 retailers among its 128 respondents – also showed a…

13 August

Features

Coronavirus diaries: TVM UK

This has certainly been an interesting time for us as a company. Even though our parent company TVM is based in France, TVM UK has complete autonomy over its operational strategy. The message from France was to follow UK regulations and to do what we thought was best based on…