The government has confirmed that all businesses should ensure their employees work at home, if at all possible.
Following its announcement that all non-essential premises must close, the government has published its further guidance here.
Speaking at last night’s COVID-19 press conference, Health Secretary Matt Hancock responded to a question about who employees should listen to when they are being told to go to work when they feel their job isn’t essential and are unable to stay two metres apart.
He said: “The advice is crystal clear: that you should stay at home, unless you have one of the four reasons; exercise, shopping – as little as you have to – for medical reasons, or to go to work where that work can’t be done at home. Employers have a duty of care.”
However, he added that if employees are key workers, employed in the NHS or social care, they should continue to go to work because the work is vital to tackle coronavirus.
Business support packages: latest updates
The government has set out a package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19.
This information and advice is ever changing and developing. The latest information about these initiatives can be found here:
- Extra protection for businesses with ban on evictions for commercial tenants who miss rent payments. NEW
- Financial assistance for employers unable to pay statutory redundancy payments. NEW
- The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
- Deferring VAT and Income Tax payments
- Statutory Sick Pay relief package for SMEs
- 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses in England
- Small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief
- Grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
- The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5million for SMEs through the British Business Bank. NOW OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS
- A new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans. NOW OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS
- The HMRC Time To Pay Scheme
Additional new guidance
Apprenticeship programme response: The Education and Skills Funding Agency is taking steps to ensure that, wherever possible, apprentices can continue and complete their apprenticeship and to support providers during this challenging time. New guidance has been published for apprentices, employers, training providers and assessment organisations – click here to view.
MHRA industry response: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have produced guidance for industry covering the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak – click here to view.
The government has set up a business support helpline, which is open Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm. More information can be found here. The latest UK Government advice can be found here.
There is a dedicated Government Business Support site here.