Smarter Business Blog – Lockdown Easing & Branches Reopening on Monday

It has been a week with very few announcements on the financial side, which is as expected, and the Government have relaxed the lockdown restrictions further.  From a business perspective, non-essential retail will be allowed to open from Monday. We still await further news regards the hospitality sector, hairdressers, etc, but the suggestion is that July will see relaxation in that area, albeit with some tight rules.  We take this opportunity to update you on some clarification and other items of news:

• Furlough Scheme – Nothing really new in this area, other than those that watched ITV1 Martin Lewis Money Show last night (Thursday, June 11), will have heard him announce that the Government will allow employees returning from maternity leave to be placed on furlough, even if this is after 10 June. We are expecting an announcement form the Government later regarding formal details of the part-time furlough scheme and we will update on this next week.
• Self Employed Income Support Grant – Reminder: The Government have announced that the first round of this grant will close on the 13 July. If you have not yet made your application, then make sure you do it by 13 July.  If you are unsure if you qualify then click on the link below to check >
  • https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/self-employment-support/enter-unique-taxpayer-reference
• Coronavirus Discretionary Business Rates Grant Funding – Teignbridge’s application process opened earlier this week. Here’s the link to find out more >
  • https://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/business/business-support-and-advice/business-help-and-support-during-coronavirus/apply-for-discretionary-business-grant/
• Smarter Accounting Offices – As we announced last week, both the Crediton and Teignmouth Smarter Offices will be staffed from Monday. We, of course, will be ensuring that any risks are minimised and therefore the following applies:
  • The offices will be staffed as follows:
    • Crediton will have 2 members of staff
    • Teignmouth will have 1 member staff
    • Other members of staff will continue to work from home
  • The offices will be open for records to be collected and dropped off but will still be closed to visitors without appointments. If you want to collect or drop off records, please phone in advance to let us know you are coming!
  • Meetings will still not take place in the offices. We do offer a variety of options for meetings including virtual, phone and public open spaces
  • Please follow any instructions at the offices
  • We will be reviewing measures and Government guidance on a regular basis and we hope that we can relax things further soon
  • Your health and wellbeing, along with our staff is of the upmost importance and will always take precedence

If you want to discuss any issues, or have queries, please don’t hesitate to call, or email us.  We provide more regular updates via Facebook and therefore, if you want the latest news then like and follow our Facebook page.

Best wishes and stay safe!