COVID-19

Please see below downloadable pdf files relating to COVID-19 and the events industry.

Useful Phone Numbers

The Government is operating a business helpline which is available to individual businesses on 0300 456 3565.

HMRC Business Support Helpline – 0800 024 1222

HMRC have opened a dedicated helpline for businesses and the self-employed to answer queries or concerns regarding tax payments and finding solutions including:

- agreeing an instalment arrangement
- suspending debt collection proceedings
- cancelling penalties and interest where you have administrative difficulties contacting or paying HMRC immediately

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tax-helpline-to-support-businesses-affected-by-coronavirus-covid-19

Employment Guidance

The EIF website has a range of guidances covering employment from HR specialists Ellis Whittam which you might find helpful. These cover advice on redundancies to home working and include a sample risk assessment template. You will find these at https://www.eventsindustryforum.co.uk/index.php/the-events-industry-forum/10-coronavirus-advice

There are also a number of useful points for guidance available from Government and other bodies, including:

Guidance on advice to provide to staff including: how to help prevent spread of COVID-19; what to do if someone suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 has been in a workplace setting; advice to give to individuals who have travelled to specific areas; and advice for the certification of absence from work resulting from COVID19. This includes advice on what to do if someone visits your restaurant/shop, or if your delivery driver has had contact with someone who is infected.
The Association of Chartered Accountants has issued some guidance on Employment law: What’s the priority for employers?
Information on the support available to businesses impacted by COVID-19
ACAS has published information for employees and employers, including information on simple steps to help protect the health and safety of staff, sick pay and absence from work
The NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ also has useful guidance

Financial Support

Grants: Any business receiving Small Business Relief will automatically get a £10,000 grant, irrespective of any other criteria. Retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with a rateable value of less than £51,000 will get all get a £25,000 grant. The size of the grants are not variable.
A Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme delivered by the https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/supporting-business-loans-enterprise-finance-guarantee/, will enable businesses with a turnover of no more than £41 million to apply for a loan of up to £1.2 million, with the government covering up to 80% of any losses with no fees.
A number of private lenders are also making funds available to small businesses impacted by COVID-19, including £14 billion from https://home.barclays/news/2020/03/supporting-our-customers-and-clients-impacted-by-coronavirus–co/, £2 billion from https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/Media/Press-Releases/2020-press-releases/lloyds-banking-group/lloyds-banking-group-ready-to-support-uk-small-businesses-impacted-by-covid-19/and £5 billion from https://www.rbs.com/rbs/news/2020/03/natwest-pledges-p5bn-working-capital-support-for-smes-during-cor.html
A full government refund on the cost of providing 14 days of statutory sick pay per employee for businesses with fewer than 250 employees.
Temporarily increasing the business rates retail discount to 100% for the 2020-21 fiscal year. This means retail and hospitality businesses, including restaurants and takeaways, with a rateable value below £51,000 will pay no business rates in the next year. Further information and guidance
Time to Pay – businesses can arrange to delay paying taxes by contacting HMRC – see https://www.gov.uk/difficulties-paying-hmrc
A dedicated HMRC helpline has also been set up to help businesses and self-employed individuals with their tax affairs – 0800 0159 559
The Association of British Insurers Coronavirus has a Q&A site about insurance cover at https://www.abi.org.uk/products-and-issues/topics-and-issues/coronavirus-qa/
Insurance: The Treasury has agreed with insurers that any business with a policy that would have paid out if there had been a government mandated shutdown will be paid.
UK Finance Guidance for SMEs – ‘Let’s Talk Business COVID-19’ – https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/policy-and-guidance/guidance/let%E2%80%99s-talk-business-covid-19
The Welsh Government has also put £200 million aside to support small businesses in Wales – https://gov.wales/emergency-support-businesses-hit-coronavirus?fbclid=IwAR1fHd9u8TA4FwGaDdIxNZIBbRKltEk1QBdRqi3m6l_WCO-IuN13Lh-nYPs
Scottish Enterprise has launched a business helpline to provide businesses across Scotland with information and support on COVID-19. The business helpline number is 0300 303 0660 and will be open Monday to Friday, between 8.30am to 5.30pm.
The £80m grant fund is part of a £320m package of measures announced to help small businesses weather the coronavirus crisis.
75% rates relief for retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with a rateable value of less than £69,000 from 1 April 2020
an £80 million fund to provide grants of at least £3,000 to small businesses in sectors facing the worst economic impact of COVID-19 • 1.6% rates relief for all properties across Scotland, effectively reversing the planned below inflation uplift in the poundage from 1 April 2020
Fixed rates relief of up to £5,000 for all pubs with a rateable value of less than £100,000
- Small Business Minister and Small Business Commissioner has called on the UK’s big businesses to speed up payments to their small business suppliers wherever they can to ease cash flow issues. You can find more information here.

Business Support

Link to information launched 23^rd March

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-business-support-to-launch-from-today

Link to dedicated web site with support available for businesses

https://www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/

Furlough Leave

We have been receiving lots of enquiries about the Government support for paying wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). This provides support by refunding employers 80% of the cost of wages for employees who are “furloughed”. This unfamiliar word relates to being sent home without work and without pay whilst being retained as an employee. As this is a variation to the employment contract it requires agreement from the employees but as the alternative is redundancy that is unlikely to be a problem.

If furloughed, employees cannot work for you whilst at home, and probably not for anyone else either, as they are still under contract to you. If you are having to choose who to furlough you should use what would have been the redundancy selection criteria, and be careful not to discriminate against those with protected characteristics e.g. age, sex, religion, disability etc. You do not have to top-up the 80% pay. If you can afford to, and if for example, the furloughed employee is a valued employee, you are permitted to pay the 20% shortfall.

There is a cap of £2,500 per month per person but it is not clear yet is whether the limit is 80% of £2,500 or whether the 80% is capped at £2,500. Since you may be wanting to start putting people on furlough leave before the rules are entirely clear, I suggest erring on the side of caution and assuming the lower amount. It is also not clear whether the 80% reimbursement has to include Employers NI contributions. As far as we know so far there is nothing to stop business owners who are directors being furloughed, but this may be clarified. I also suspect there will be some sort of anti-abuse rules to prevent suddenly inflated salaries being paid.

We attach a template for an agreement with your employees, which makes provision for adjustments to be made to payments if errors are made before the rules are clarified. You will need to tailor this to suit your own circumstances.

We hope you find this summary helpful, and will update you as more information become available about how to claim the refund and what the likely timescale is.

Coronavirus WhatsApp Information Service

The Govt has started a Whatsapp information service get provide official, trustworthy and timely information and advice about coronavirus out to as many people as possible. It will provide information on topics such as coronavirus prevention and symptoms, the latest number of cases in the UK, advice on staying at home, travel advice and myth busting via a chatbot.

To use this free service, simply add 07860 064422 in your phone contacts and then message the word ‘hi’ in a WhatsApp message to get started.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-coronavirus-information-service-on-whatsapp

Collated Advice for Charity Sector

The Government has collated all the advice and support available to the Charity Sector together on one page. This includes sectors on guidance for workers, guidance on fundraising and funding opportunities and guidance on Volunteers

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-guidance-for-voluntary-community-and-social-enterprise-organisations#guidance-about-funding-and-fundraising

Government Plan to Tackle Loneliness

The Government has launched a new campaign to tackle loneliness caused by the current lock-down. This includes loneliness being priority category of £750 million charity funding package

Guaranteed, a £5 million boost for national loneliness organisations and guidance on supporting yourself and others safely. This is useful for businesses protecting the mental health of employees that they have had to furlough.

https://letstalkloneliness.co.uk/

Non-Governmental Coronavirus Advice

The Government has put together a couple of lists which are handy to have – the first is public bodies, organisations and charities have produced additional resources that may be useful to employers and employees. This includes organisations such as ACAS, Business in the Community and Companies House

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-support-for-business-from-outside-government

The second is a BEIS produced list of Trade and Business Organisations that are providing sector-specific advice on Coronavirus. It’s not particularly comprehensive but it’s a start.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-support-from-business-representative-organisations-and-trade-associations

Updated List of Relaxed Rules

The list of rules that have been relaxed to help businesses have been updated to include Companies House filings, Statutory Residence Test, Driver CPC requirements and navigation charges.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rules-that-have-been-relaxed-to-help-businesses-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic

Government Webinars on Supporting Staff and the Self-Employed

The Government has updated it’s webpage on resources to help businesses to include webinars aimed at helping businesses understand the support available. Here are the links for topics that cover supporting and retaining staff and the self-employed – you can register to attend future webinars or watch recorded sessions

Event Safety Alliance Reopening Guide

Please download The Event Safety Alliance Reopening Guide for Event Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Getting back to work

Coming back to work after Covid-19 May 2020
Return to Work Cleaning Checklist
Responding to a Positive Covid-19 test May 2020
iDISPLAY Thermometer Brochure
Fever screening control system

WHO

Please see attached WHO Mass gathering information.

Also link to information here
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/points-of-entry-and-mass-gatherings

Also a link to a WHO Risk Assessment template
https://www.who.int/who-documents-detail/mass-gathering-risk-assessment-covid-19-key-considerations

Key planning recommendations for mass gatherings in the context of COVID-19

Guidance of data staff and customer collection requirements

The requirement to collect this data applies to:

hospitality, including pubs, bars and restaurants (it does not apply to businesses operating a takeaway/delivery only basis)
tourism and leisure, including hotels, museums, cinemas, zoos and theme parks
close contact services, including hairdressers, and others as defined here
facilities provided by local authorities, including town halls and civic centres for events, community centres, libraries and children’s centres
places of worship, including use for events and other community activities

This guidance applies to any establishment that provides an on-site service and to any events that take place on its premises. It does not apply where services are taken off-site immediately, for example, a food or drink outlet which only provides takeaways. If a business offers a mixture of a sit-in and takeaway service, contact information only needs to be collected for customers who are dining in. It does not apply to drop-off deliveries made by suppliers.

The data that needs to be collected is:

Staff

The names of staff who work at the premises.
A contact phone number for each member of staff.
The dates and times that staff are at work.

Customers and visitors

The name of the customer or visitor. If there is more than one person, then you can record the name of the ‘lead member’ of the group and the number of people in the group.
A contact phone number for each customer or visitor, or for the lead member of a group of people.
Date of visit and arrival and, where possible, departure time.

If a customer interacts with only one member of staff, the name of the assigned staff member should be recorded alongside the name of the customer If you have a large booking, for example, at a restaurant, you only need to collect the name and contact phone number of the lead member of the party. This data needs to be kept for 21 days.

Below is a copy of the guidance, and FAQ on the Guidance and Powerpoint toolkit for businesses which includes:

Messaging to use with consumers
A template privacy notice for organisations to personalise and use, which will be uploaded to the Google Drive on Friday 3 July

Customer Logging Example Messaging.pdf
FAQ Maintaining Records of Staff Customers and Visitors for NHS Test and Trace 020720.pdf
Guidance on maintaining records 020720.pdf

The ICO has also published a statement and a short data protection A,B,C checklist on customer logs this morning: