The Scottish Chambers of Commerce has issued an urgent appeal to the Scottish Government over fears that the level of coronavirus restrictions is set to rise needlessly, causing untold damage to the lives of people across Scotland.
Tim Allan, President, Scottish Chambers of Commerce said:
“Scotland is at breaking point and at risk of being strangled for an overabundance of caution.
“We simply must not move into a lock down or a so-called circuit break unless it is absolutely necessary to do so. By the criteria set out in the Scottish Government’s own strategic framework, most of Scotland should be having restrictions eased, not locked down further.
“This is not just about the economy – although it is clearly facing perilous decline. It is about not trading harms caused by the virus, for greater harms caused by mental illness, joblessness and poverty because these can also be deadly for some. These issues must be equally factored into decision making.
“The complex tier system was created to reflect our regional variations in demography, geography and capacities. The First Minister must not panic and throw this plan away just days after it has been implemented, particularly where indications show the plan is working as transmissions are declining and going in the right direction.
“Frankly, a lock down would be a betrayal of our communities and businesses that have sacrificed so much and are working together to control COVID in their areas. For example, it would be monstrously unfair to place Aberdeen, Moray, Highlands and the Borders in a Tier 4 lockdown when the data shows they barely merit level 1 let alone 2.
“Although the extension of the furlough scheme announced by the UK Government is welcome, it is not a panacea: it will protect jobs to a certain extent, and it can provide a cushion for when areas need stricter measures to control the spread of the virus. However, most businesses which are already depleted of cash reserves from the last lockdown, and additional local lockdowns, we all still face other costs. Many are at the point where it might just be easier to shut and restart at some point in the future, if at all. That will be a disaster for all of us.
“Allowing businesses to trade as normally as possible must be core to the process of managing the virus.”
Commenting on remarks made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak today on the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to March 2021, Dr Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“This announcement gives Scottish businesses a glimmer of hope that we may be able to survive and work through this crisis.
“What we cannot do is to continue with uncertainty which is impacting business confidence, employee motivation and our ability to plan and invest.
“Movement in the management of the virus must be towards the re-opening of the economy, with support such as the furlough scheme available to support businesses if restrictions need to be imposed. However, the furlough scheme alone will not be enough to save businesses so the Chancellor must continue and expand his commitment to providing businesses with guaranteed grants support to help businesses recover.
“The Scottish Government should continue to follow an evidence-led approach and work in partnership with industry before applying additional, harsher economic restrictions. That also means expanding test and trace capability to which is a key enabler to keeping the economy open.”
As you may have heard announced this afternoon, the Chancellor has extended the support available to businesses through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough scheme) until the end of March 2021, along with various changes to other support mechanisms.
You can download a Treasury factsheet here outlining today’s announcements, and we have summarised the key changes as follows:
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
- Extended until end March 2021, with a policy review in January to assess the level of employer contribution required.
- Eligible employees will receive 80% of their salary (up to £2.500 per month) for hours not worked, with no employer contribution to wages for hours not worked.
- Employers will be asked to cover National Insurance and pension contributions for hours not worked.
- Neither the employer nor the employee needs to have previously claimed / been claimed for under the existing scheme. Employees on PAYE payroll on 30 October 2020 can be claimed for.
- Employees on payroll on 23 September 2020, who were made redundant or stopped working afterwards, can be re-employed and claimed for.
Job Support Scheme
- Postponed until further notice.
Job Retention Bonus
- This will not be paid in February as originally announced – UK Government will redeploy a retention incentive at an appropriate time.
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme
- The overall level of grant available will cover 80% of trading profits from November to January (to a cap of £7,500) and the window for claiming will open sooner than planned.
- We will circulate a separate email with further details of this as details are made available.
Guarantee Loan Schemes
- Bounce Back Loan, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan, Future Fund and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme application deadlines are extended to the end of January 2021.
- Businesses who have borrowed less than the maximum available to them through the Bounce Back Loan scheme will be able to top up their existing loan.
We have linked throughout this document to the relevant GOV.UK pages for the support schemes mentioned, although note that much of the guidance has yet to be updated. As we are made aware that guidance is updated and schemes are opened to new claims, we will let you know.
As ever, you can find all the latest information we have on the COVID-19 Support Updates section of the Chamber website.
Commenting on remarks made by the First Minister today on the prospect of further economic restrictions, Dr Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“The decision for Scotland to enter a national lockdown – or not – must be driven by the health and economic evidence. In our view, Scotland must not be put in the position of having to lock down its economy simply to access business support available in England.
“Where we are unable to take a 4 nations approach, Westminster needs to work with the devolved nations to ensure areas are not made worse off relative to others. Therefore, where Scottish businesses are placed into similar restrictions as in England, then the same level of business support must be available when restrictions are triggered. The Prime Minister has made a commitment to make the furlough scheme available in the future if other parts of the UK apply restrictive measures – we look forward to seeing further detail on this. However, the Prime Minister must also consider the provision of further grants support to help businesses survive, as well as supporting our employees.
“Switching from the Scottish Government’s ‘Levels’ approach to a national lockdown would send out mixed messages to businesses, employees and customers, especially when we are only in the first day of the Strategic Framework and where there is broad consensus on the ‘Levels’ approach. Scottish Government must continue to publish and monitor data, and review on a weekly basis. Ultimately, what business needs is the ability to trade consistently and openly, particularly in the run-up to Christmas.”
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To learn about how Chamber membership could benefit your business, see the Membership benefits page or get in touch with Fiona Levack, Business Development Manager to arrange an informal chat. You can email fiona here: Fiona@caithnesschamber.com The Chamber offers advice and support to businesses of all sizes, at all stages and in all sectors and we would be thrilled to hear from you.
In addition to chamber membership, many of our funded projects offer support and guidance to businesses in a range of ways. See the list of options, here.
Did you know that we offer a membership referral scheme? If you refer a business who joins the chamber, you could benefit from £50 off your next renewal. Read more here.
Following confirmation of the areas and tier levels as set out in the Scottish Government’s strategic framework for managing the coronavirus crisis, Dr Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“As a result of the continued growth of COVID-19 cases, businesses, our employees and their families have now been informed as to what level of restrictions will be placed on us through the introduction of the Scottish Government’s tier system for local authorities.
“Whilst the First Minister did not announce a full national lockdown, the majority of Scotland has been designated within Level 3. This will have an immediate impact on businesses confidence and survival.
“In addition, the consequences of imposing additional travel restrictions between areas and levels will result in decreased tourism, also impacting on retailing and hospitality. The effects of this in town centres and for out-of-town retail centres in the key pre-Christmas period must not be underestimated.
“It is critical that Government commit to demonstrating effective working by listening and engaging with the business community, understanding our concerns and collectively identifying solutions which could reduce the growth of the virus, whilst enabling businesses to trade and keep our employees.
“To help all of us to understand how we are progressing, it is essential that the tiered system provides a greater level of detail and transparency, indicating the criteria and trigger points when areas move from one stage to another.
“The First Minister’s plans for weekly and daily reviews are welcome, and business want to be at the table to help understand and inform the review process and decisions which effect all of us. This will help to build business confidence on the necessity and the efficacy of these continued restrictions, enabling all of us to be working towards the same goals – saving lives and livelihoods.
“Support to all businesses in all sectors effected by these restrictions needs to increase substantially. Job support is helpful – but we need to seriously increase the level of support on offer and the speed at which it is being provided.’’
On specific new funding for night club and soft play businesses from the Scottish Government, as well as the announcement that guidance on how soft play businesses will be able to reopen is to be published this week, Dr Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“This new funding support for clubs and soft play centres provides an essential lifeline to important areas of the economy that have forced to remain closed since the start of lockdown. These businesses are facing great difficulties and this support from the COVID-19 Contingency Fund addresses some of the gaps we have identified in business support schemes so far. It almost goes without saying that it is vital these grants are now rolled out as quickly as possible.
“It is very positive that, at last, we will have guidance on when soft play centres might be able to reopen. Not only will it be a great boon for parents and carers of young people, but the sector has been Covid-safe for some time and deserves the opportunity to begin trading again.
“We urge the Scottish Government to continue to work with these businesses to support the safe reopening of soft play centres, to protect the jobs and livelihoods within the sector.”
The UK Government has now published further details of the Job Support Scheme, which will open on 1 November and run until 30 April 2021. Full details of the scheme and eligibility criteria can be viewed on GOV.UK, and we have summarised the key details below.
JSS Open vs. JSS Closed
- Unlike the previous Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Job Support Scheme will operate in two different ways depending on whether employers have been legally required to close their premises or not.
- For JSS Closed (premises required to close), each employee who cannot work will receive two thirds of their pay, fully funded by Government, to a maximum of £2,083.33 per month
- For JSS Open (where premises remain open but demand is lowered), employees claimed through the scheme will need to work a minimum of 20% of their usual hours. They will receive 66.67% of their pay for hours not worked, with the employer contributing 5% and Government 61.67% (to a maximum of £1,541.75 per month).
Eligibility Criteria
For both JSS Open and JSS Closed, the following criteria will need to be met:
- Employer enrolled for PAYE online and has a UK, Channel Island, or Isle of Man bank account
- Organisations with staff costs that are fully publicly funded should not use the scheme
- Employees must have been in employment on 23 September 2020 – including those who ceased employment after this date and were rehired
- Individuals who are treated as employees for Income Tax purposes are employees for the purpose of this scheme – including zero-hours contracts and agency workers
- Employees do not need to have been furloughed under CJRS to be eligible for this scheme
For JSS Open, the following criteria also need to be met:
- some, or all, employees are working reduced hours – employees must still be working for at least 20% of their usual hours
- an employer with 250 or more employees on 23 September 2020 has undertaken a Financial Impact Test
- employers must have reached written agreement with their employee (or reached written collective agreement with a trade union where the relevant terms are determined by collective agreement) that they have been offered a temporary working agreement
For JSS Closed, the following criteria also need to be met:
- employees primary work place is at the premises that have been legally required to close as a direct result of coronavirus restrictions
- employers have instructed the employee to cease work for a minimum period of at least 7 consecutive calendar days
Note that these are not the full eligibility criteria and that more details will be made available on the official UK Government website in coming days.
How to Claim / Other Support
Employers should prepare now to make a claim from 8 December 2020, covering salary for pay periods ending and paid in November. Indicative calculations to help employers prepare a claim are available.
Employers claiming JSS may still claim the Job Retention Bonus, and grants claimed under JSS can be used to help meet the Lower Earnings Limit of this scheme.
Where an employee’s pay period includes eligible amounts under CJRS until 31 October and JSS from 1 November, the amounts to be claimed for each scheme should be calculated separately. No amount of gross pay should be included in both schemes.
See the Covid-19 support updates pages for more details or simply get in touch with any questions.
On the publication of the strategic framework for Scotland on Covid-19 from the Scottish Government, Dr Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce said:
“We cannot stress enough how essential it is that businesses have as much clarity on restrictions on trading as is possible, so we welcome this new strategic framework which gives businesses an opportunity to begin re-opening the economy. The Scottish Government must continue publishing evidence-led data alongside restrictions.
“We look forward to working with the Scottish Government to communicate how the vast majority of businesses are continuing to invest in delivering safe environments for customers and employees.
“It is in the best interests of the people of Scotland that businesses are trusted to trade in order to avoid the worst outcomes of widespread joblessness and economic decline.
“The support available for business will be essential as restrictions continue and we urge governments to ensure it is allocated efficiently and effectively over the coming weeks and months.
“Governments also need to focus on ramping up test and trace programs so that they are available in every business premises and in every airport in Scotland.’’