Its great to hear that a lot of you are still busy and that many of you are doing really well.
We all hear (as the news keeps telling us ) that we are heading for a huge recession but we have to remain positive and this news yesterday from the Chancellor could help our smaller businesses in the coming months.
News on the furlough scheme and apprenticeships, together with our forthcoming announcement on the new apprenticeships for florists, which will be coming out in the next couple of weeks will help to maintain a steady growth for us all.
Below we’ve listed the details that may apply directly to you as florists.
Job Retention Scheme (Furlough)
Mr Sunak confirmed the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will end as planned this October.
The CJRS will be followed by a Job Retention Bonus, which will be introduced to help firms keep furloughed workers in employment. This will see UK employers receive a one-off payment of £1,000 for each furloughed employee who is still employed as of 31 January 2021. To qualify for the payment, employees must earn above the Lower Earnings Limit (£520 per month) on average between the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the end of January 2021.
Payments will be made from February 2021. Further detail about the scheme will be announced by the end of July 2020.
Kick start and Apprenticeships.
The government will give Businesses £2,000 for each apprentice they hire under the age of 25. £1,500 will be given for hiring an apprentice over 25. With our announcement coming very soon regarding the new trailblazer apprenticeship this could be a realistic option for florists. Watch out for our updates!
£1bn will be given to the Department of Work and Pensions to help job seekers and the Government has already pledged to double the number of staff who work in job centres. This is at least hopeful for anyone who faces a job search in the coming months.
The chancellor says the government will pay employers £1,000 to take on trainees which we hope will be clarified in more detail soon as to the specifics. In addition the Government will also be providing £100m to create places on Level 2 and 3 courses.
A £2 billion Kickstart Scheme will also aim to create subsidised six-month work placements for young people aged 16-24 who are claiming Universal Credit. The funding available for each placement will cover 100% of the National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus the associated employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions. Employers will be able to top this wage up.
For more information about all of these you can read up by following the link below. We expect more clarity on all of this very soon.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/rishis-plan-for-jobs-will-help-britain-bounce-back
Business rates
Business rates holidays for retail, hospitality, leisure sectors, and for nurseries – The government has provided business rates holidays to approximately 350,000 ratepayers in England in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, and to nurseries. Ratepayers for eligible properties will pay no business rates for the whole of 2020-21, saving businesses in these sectors almost £10 billion and nurseries £90 million. Combined with the Small Business Rates Relief, a total of 1.1 million ratepayers (over half of all ratepayers) will pay no business rates in 2020-21.
Local infrastructure projects – The government will provide £900 million for shovel-ready projects in England in 2020-21 and 2021-22 to drive local growth and jobs. This could include the development and regeneration of key local sites, investment to improve transport and digital connectivity, and innovation and technology centres. Contact your local MP for details which will be available at a later date.
Please note that we have not received the correspondence form Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland and that some of the information may only apply to England. We will endeavour to keep you all connected.
