Latest guidelines
Here are the latest guidelines from the Cabinet office. Please be vigilant to where you access your advice and guidelines from. We have been made aware that on social media inaccurate advice and guidelines have been shared. If in doubt please feel free to discuss this on the Insiders (our confidential mastermind group) or email us so that we may reply to the Cabinet office. We only share the advice sent to us for businesses from the Cabinet office or trusted businesses that we have worked with.
New National Restrictions, Keeping your customers, visitors and workers safe, Remembrance Day, supporting the extremely vulnerable, and Business Support.
New restrictions 5th November
New national restrictions will come into place in England on Thursday 5th November. For more details see Number 10 twitter and national assets on restrictions.
Everyone must stay at home, and may leave only for a limited set of reasons, which include:
- For education;
- For work, if you cannot work from home;
- For exercise and recreation outdoors, with your household, support bubble or on your own with one person from another household;
- For all medical reasons, appointments and to escape injury or harm;
- To shop for food and essentials;
- And to provide care for vulnerable people, or as a volunteer.
To reduce social contact, the Government has ordered certain businesses and venues to close or restrict how they provide goods and services. These include:
- Non-essential retail, such as clothing and homeware stores, vehicle showrooms (other than for rental), betting shops, tailors, tobacco and vape shops, electronic goods and mobile phone shops, and market stalls selling non-essential goods. These venues can continue to be able to operate click-and-collect (where goods are pre-ordered and collected off the premises) and delivery services
- Hospitality venues such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and social clubs; with the exception of providing food and drink for takeaway (before 10pm; and not including alcohol), click-and-collect, drive-through or delivery
- Accommodation such as hotels, hostels, guest houses and campsites. Except for specific circumstances, such as where these act as someone’s main residence, where they cannot return home, for homeless people, or where it is essential to stay there for work purposes
- Leisure and sports facilities such as leisure centres and gyms, swimming pools, tennis and basketball courts, golf courses, fitness and dance studios, climbing walls, archery, driving, and shooting ranges
- Entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries, casinos, amusement arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, skating rinks, go-karting venues, soft play centres and areas, circuses, funfairs, zoos and other animal attractions, water parks, theme parks. Indoor attractions at botanical gardens, heritage homes and landmarks must also close, though outdoor grounds of these premises can stay open
- Personal care facilities such as hair, beauty, tanning and nail salons. Tattoo parlours, spas, massage parlours, body and skin piercing services must also close. It is also prohibited to provide these services in other peoples’ homes
- Community centres and halls must close except for a limited number of exempt activities as set out below Libraries can also remain open to provide access to IT and digital services – for example for people who do not have it at home – and for click-and-collect
- Places of worship, apart from for the purposes of independent prayer, and service broadcasting and funerals
Other businesses are permitted to stay open – this includes those providing essential goods or services, including: food shops, supermarkets, garden centres and certain other retailers providing essential goods and services. Essential retail should follow COVID-secure guidelines to protect customers, visitors and workers.
Full details of the guidance can be found here.
Keeping your customers, visitors and workers safe
Businesses have been working hard to put in place measures to minimise the transmission of the virus in the workplace and HSE have been checking, visiting and inspecting businesses to ensure they are COVID-secure.
From mid-June to 3rd November, HSE conducted over 44,000 spot checks to businesses and organisations. Most businesses checked are following the COVID-secure workplace guidance and action has been taken where businesses have fallen short.
HSE’s programme of activity has shown that social distancing is the biggest issue facing businesses, followed by cleaning regimes and management arrangements. As we move into national restrictions, if your business is permitted to stay open then please ensure you follow COVID-secure guidelines.
Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day 2020
This year, national and local remembrance ceremonies will be closed to the public. However, there are many ways you can mark the occasion safely, either outdoors, while following social distancing guidance, online or at home. The Department for Digital, Culture. Media and Sport has a page with lots of ideas on how to mark the occasion, including printable images for colouring in and displaying in windows.
The public may wish to remember those lost through conflict by marking the national two-minute silence at 11am on Sunday November 8th. The service is broadcast nationwide on BBC One, Sky and ITV.
Clinically Extremely Vulnerable
New guidance was published today for the clinically extremely vulnerable on keeping safe under new national restrictions which come into force this Thursday. The group is strongly advised to stay at home at all times, unless for exercise or doctors’ appointments.
A range of support is available, backed by over £32 million government funding for local councils. More information here.
Business support
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, known as the furlough scheme
This scheme will remain open until December, with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500. The Job Support Schemewill not be introduced until after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ends.
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Grant Extension
The grant is being extended from 1 November 2020. The grant will be increased from the previously announced level of 40% of trading profits to 80% for November 2020.
Business Grants
Business premises forced to close in England due to local or national restrictions will be eligible for the following:
- For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants to be £1,334 per month, or £667 per two weeks;
- For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants to be £2,000 per month, or £1,000 per two weeks;
- For properties with a rateable value of £51k or over grants to be £3,000 per month, or £1,500 per two weeks.
Business Loan Schemes
The application deadlines for the Coronavirus Bounce Back Loan, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan, Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Coronavirus Future Fund have been extended until 31 January 2021.