Southport Business Improvement District says ‘it is like the Wild West out there’ as they urge businesses in our resort to do all they can to protect themselves for when life eventually returns to normal.
But they warned firms to prepare for disruption to daily life due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic lasting for some time.
However there are several ways now available of helping local firms ride out the storm.
Southport BID Chair Susannah Porter said: “Paraphrasing from the conference call we had “This is the new normal. It will continue for a long time so we need to accept it as normal for now.
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“It is like the Wild West out there and you need to safeguard your businesses against this, however the decisions we make now and the way in which we treat people will have repercussions for the future of our businesses.”
Susannah said that charities in our town are eligible for many of these support packages and some government funded organisations, such as theatres.
She said: “There is now legislation to prevent suppliers from cancelling contracts from you – they can’t refuse essential supplies from you in order to make you pay.
Landlord can’t evict for non-payment of rent
“There has been a suspension of the ‘Rogues Charter’ where you can be prosecuted for continuing to trade whilst knowingly going out of businesses – however how we all behave now will have repercussions for the future – document all of your decisions for future reference.
“Landlords cannot evict you for non-payment of rent at the moment but please be aware this rent will continue to accrue so making in-roads into this debt may be the sensible thing to do with part of your grant.
Job Retention Scheme may cause cashflow issues
“The Job Retention Scheme is likely to cause us cashflow issues – HMRC is not opening the portal until late April and there is the potential to not receive funds for four to six weeks after that.
“Please plan this into your cashflow. Perhaps consult with staff to let them know you will need to defer payments until you receive the cash from HMRC, however be careful with this – they will have bills to pay also.
“Directors are allowed to be furloughed and must therefore not work in the businesses during that time however common sense must prevail and you can still perform directors’ duties to safeguard your business and make decisions, although no statement on this officially from the government.
Lord Street in Southport.
Photo by Andrew Brown Media
“If your staff work irregular hours you can claim as follows – whichever is the higher of:
Average monthly wages from 2019/20
Wages for the same month last year
“If they have worked for you for less than a year claim average wages since they started
“Wages for staff who only started in February 2020 will be pro-rated.
For more advice and information visit the Southport BID website here
Holidays will continue through furlough
“Holidays will continue to be earned and will accrue throughout the period of furlough – these can be transferred into the next holiday year. You can offer to buy holidays from staff but be careful – full consultation – the powers that be do not like this unless it is at the end of employment. The only good bit of news in this is that it only covers 20 days of holiday – not 28. “Even if contractually your staff are not allowed to accrue holidays into a new year (or only so many) this is the case for the next two holiday years.
“Staff claiming Statutory Sick Pay cannot be claimed for until after the sick period ends – that is you can’t claim both for the same week.
Cybercrime has risen by 400%
“Cybercrime has been reported to have risen by 400% in the North West in the last two weeks.
“Please be careful – do not change bank account details or share them without oral confirmation from a phone number you trust. Protect yourselves wherever possible.
“Ensure your and your staff home working technology is secure. Be careful taking and making payments and train all of your staff in the new measures you implement.”
Susannah also gave advice on Self Employed Grants.
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She said: “You will be invited to apply for these by HMRC if you are eligible – but not until June.
“On the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Schemes (CBILS), all major banks have announced they are offering loans up to £250,000 without personal guarantees and have opened online application processes so no need to call. But be careful of big interest rates as there have been some reports of this.
Watch out for big insurance premium hikes
“Some reports have been coming through of big increases in insurance premiums so shop around and if you are due for renewal get in early in case this trend continues – there have been some reports of premiums rising threefold.
“The government has confirmed that they will be free to do random retrospective audits of funds claimed by businesses during this time.
“There are plans being made about the recovery plan for Southport – I will update you on them later when we have more definite plans.”
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