Don’t make us pay national insurance for furloughed staff, say struggling businesses
Business groups representing hospitality, retail and leisure businesses have united to urge the government to provide sector specific support for fear of going bust due to higher tier restrictions.
The groups, which have launched a ‘Bounce Back Better’ campaign to urge the government to provide them support, have asked for National Insurance payments to be paused for employees on furlough.
At the moment businesses are still paying National Insurance contributions for furloughed staff. If a business has 10 staff members earning £9.50 per hour, working 7.5 hours per week for five days, the NI costs to the business would be £491.60 per week.
The groups have also asked the government to provide a one-off grant of up to £15,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in tiers 2 and 3 across England and Wales, with a rateable value of up to £150,000.
Business groups representing the sector have claimed the loans would support 137,000 businesses.
Matthew Sims, who is founder of the ‘Bounce Back Better’ campaign and CEO of the Croydon Business Improvement District, said: “The government has provided assurances it will do whatever it takes to support British businesses and help them to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic.
“Businesses are approaching a cliff edge and need the government to provide a parachute in sector specific measures to stave off mass closure and job losses. Now, more than ever, we need the Chancellor to stand by his promise to do whatever it takes.”
The groups would also like to see an extension of the business rates holiday into 2021/2022, and for the VAT retention scheme – which cut VAT from 20% to 5% for hospitality businesses – extended until the end of the 2021 tax year.
Hospitality, retail and leisure businesses have been hit particularly hard during the coronavirus crisis, having faced tough restrictions since March to quell the spread of the virus.
England is currently in a national lockdown, and will move into a tougher three tier system next Wednesday. However, the move will not provide great respite for the aforementioned sectors, as most of the country will remain in tiers 2 and 3 and face heavy restrictions that will limit the ability of business to operate.