Here’s all the latest for businesses in Wrexham.
Further details of the Job Retention Bonus Announced
As we briefly mentioned in a previous update; businesses will receive a one-off payment of £1,000 for every previously furloughed employee they still employ at the end of January 2021. Further details have now been published which provide:
• An overview of the scheme
• Details of which employers can claim the Job Retention Bonus
• Details of which employees an eligible employer can claim the Job Retention Bonus for
• Details of how employers can claim the Job Retention Bonus
No matter how mild your symptoms are, you should get a test for Coronavirus
For further information please follow the link below, a further announcement providing full guidance will be published in September 2020:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/job-retention-bonus/job-retention-bonus
Furloughed employees to receive full redundancy payments as a result of a new law
Employees with more than 2 years’ continuous service who are made redundant are usually entitled to a statutory redundancy payment that is based on length of service, age and pay, up to a statutory maximum.
In an effort to protect workers that have been furloughed the UK Government have brought in legislation, which took effect from Friday 31 July 2020 that will:
• Ensure that furloughed employees receive statutory redundancy pay based on their normal wages, rather than a reduced furlough rate
• Mean those furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme are not short-changed if they are made redundant
• Also apply to statutory notice pay and other entitlements, providing some reassurance during this difficult time
For further information please follow this link.
Grants available to businesses completing customs declarations
If your business completes customs declarations, you can apply for grants to get funding for recruitment, training and IT improvements. For further information on who can apply, the value of the grants and what they can be used for, please follow this link:
Additional businesses can now benefit from the UK Government Loan Scheme
Recent changes to state aid rules mean that more small businesses (those that have fewer than 50 employees and a turnover of less than £9 million) can now benefit from loans of up to £5 million under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). Businesses which have been classed as ‘undertakings in difficulty’ have previously been unable to access loan funding via the CBILS due to EU rules.
For further information please follow this link.
Call for case studies from Public Health Wales and Healthy Working Wales
Public Health Wales and Healthy Working Wales Team are keen to learn from the current pandemic and would like to hear from organisations about their Covid-19 experience.
At this stage Public Health Wales would like to know if you would be willing to participate in a short exercise.
They would like to ask organisations to develop a case study that shares information and examples about how the lockdown has affected your day to day operation. As things slowly return to (a new) normal, they are keen to hear about how your organisation has adapted in one of the topic areas listed below in order to share examples of good practice / innovation with other employers. Case studies will be published on the Healthy Working Wales website.
• Staff communication and engagement
• Remote working/ IT solutions
• Social distancing/ cohorting solutions
• Flexible working/ supporting staff who are carers/ vulnerable
• Mental health & wellbeing/ tackling isolation
• Promoting physical wellbeing
• Promoting active and sustainable travel
• Giving back/ supporting critical workers
The format for this would be a telephone call to ask you a few questions around one of the categories and to then develop the content further. If you are willing to take part please contact Jo Spooner on 03000 858294 or jo.spooner@wales.nhs.uk.
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