Information for local retailers and businesses

The City Council is working with the Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID), retailers and other local businesses to ensure the city centre and neighbourhood shopping areas can start reopen safely.

This follows the Government’s decision to ease lockdown restrictions allowing all non-essential retail to open from 15 June.

A range of measures are being put in place to enable people to move around public places safely and to support retailers with safe trading. This will include signage on pavements and outside shops to ask people to maintain social distancing, as well as encouraging people to keep left on pavements and pedestrianised areas.

Nottingham received £294,601 from a total of £50m being provided nationally from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) that the Government is making available to councils to support businesses to re-open safely.

Links to guidance and advice to local businesses:

Nottingham BID reopening checklist

Risk assessment guidance and template

Shops and branches

All government Coronavirus guidance

If you have a question about reopening your business, contact us at .

If you're self-employed or a member of a partnership and have been adversely affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) find out if you can use this scheme to claim a grant.

Applications for the second grant are now open. If you’re eligible and your business has been adversely affected on or after 14 July 2020, you must make your claim for the second grant on or before 19 October 2020.

The SEISS Grant Extension provides critical support to the self-employed. The grant will be limited to self-employed individuals who are currently eligible for the SEISS and are actively continuing to trade but are facing reduced demand due to COVID-19.

The extension will provide two grants and will last for six months from November 2020 to April 2021. Grants will be paid in two lump sum instalments each covering a three-month period.

Read more on the Gov.UK website.

The grant does not need to be repaid but will be subject to Income Tax and self-employed National Insurance. Check if you can claim a grant through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme

There is other support available if you’re not eligible for the grant.

More information about how to access information around the scheme and associated support can be found from the government below.

Information on the scheme, eligibility and access to the scheme

Self-employment Income Support Scheme FAQs

Press release from the government regarding the scheme

Announcement from the Chancellor launching the scheme

Support to find work, claim benefits or get help

Advice on claiming Universal Credit during the Coronavirus pandemic

Contact our Council Tax scheme for support

This page will be updated regularly as new information is provided

Last updated: 25 September 2020

The Job Support Scheme is designed to protect viable jobs in businesses who are facing lower demand over the winter months due to Covid-19, to help keep their employees attached to the workforce. The scheme will open on 1 November 2020 and run for 6 months.

Read more on the GOV.UK website.

UPDATE: Chancellor extends furlough scheme until October 2020

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will remain open until the end of October, the Chancellor has announced. The scheme will continue to apply across all regions and sectors in the UK economy. Furloughed workers across the UK will continue to receive 80% of their current salary, up to £2,500.

From the start of August, furloughed workers will be able to return to work part-time with employers being asked to pay a percentage towards the salaries of their furloughed staff. The employer payments will substitute the contribution the government is currently making, ensuring that staff continue to receive 80% of their salary, up to £2,500 a month.

The scheme will continue in its current form until the end of July. Changes to allow more flexibility will come in from the start of August. More specific details and information around implementation will be made available by the end of this month.

Any entity with a UK payroll can apply, including businesses, charities, recruitment agencies and public authorities. To make your claim you will need:

• a Government Gateway (GG) ID and password – if you don’t already have a GG account, you can apply for one online, or by going to GOV.UK and searching for 'HMRC services: sign in or register'
• be enrolled for PAYE online – if you aren’t registered yet, you can do so now, or by going to GOV.UK and searching for 'PAYE Online for employers'
• the following information for each furloughed employee you will be claiming for: Name, National Insurance number, Claim period and claim amount, PAYE/employee number (optional).
• if you have fewer than 100 furloughed staff – you will need to input information directly into the system for each employee. If you have 100 or more furloughed staff – you will need to upload a file with information for each employee; HMRC will accept the following file types: .xls .xlsx .csv .ods.

You should retain all records and calculations in respect of your claims. You can find more information on the scheme and eligibility to claim on the Gov.UK website.

Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those employees that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis.

You will need to:

• designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers,’ and notify your employees of this change - changing the status of employees remains subject to existing employment law and, depending on the employment contract, may be subject to negotiation.
• submit information to HMRC about the employees that have been furloughed and their earnings through a new online portal (HMRC will set out further details on the information required)

If you cannot maintain your current workforce because your operations have been severely affected by coronavirus (COVID-19), you can furlough employees and apply for a grant that covers 80% of their usual monthly wage costs, up to £2,500 a month, plus the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and pension contributions (up to the level of the minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contribution) on that subsidised furlough pay.

This is a temporary scheme in place for 3 months starting from 1 March 2020, but it may be extended if necessary and employers can use this scheme anytime during this period. It is designed to help employers whose operations have been severely affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19) to retain their employees and protect the UK economy. However, all employers are eligible to claim under the scheme and the government recognises different businesses will face different impacts from coronavirus.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – extended eligibility

An important change has been made to the scheme extending employee eligibility:

• Employers can now claim for employees that were employed and on their PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020. This means that the employee must have been notified to HMRC through an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before 19 March 2020.
• Employees that were employed as of 28 February 2020 and on payroll and were made redundant or stopped working for you after that, and prior to 19 March 2020, can also qualify for the scheme if you re-employ them and put them on furlough.

Further guidance is available here.

Support to businesses by deferring Valued Added Tax (VAT) payments for 3 months. If you’re self-employed, Income Tax payments due in July 2020 under the Self-Assessment system will be deferred to January 2021.

For VAT, the deferral will apply from 20 March 2020 until 30 June 2020

This is an automatic offer with no applications required. Businesses will not need to make a VAT payment during this period. Taxpayers will be given until the end of the 2020 to 2021 tax year to pay any liabilities that have accumulated during the deferral period. VAT refunds and reclaims will be paid by the government as normal.

For Income Tax Self-Assessment, payments due on the 31 July 2020 will be deferred until the 31 January 2021.

The government will bring forward legislation to allow small- and medium-sized businesses and employers to reclaim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid for sickness absence due to COVID-19. The eligibility criteria for the scheme will be as follows:

1. this refund will cover up to 2 weeks’ SSP per eligible employee who has been off work because of COVID-19
2. employers with fewer than 250 employees will be eligible - the size of an employer will be determined by the number of people they employed as of 28 February 2020
3. employers will be able to reclaim expenditure for any employee who has claimed SSP (according to the new eligibility criteria) as a result of COVID-19
4. employers should maintain records of staff absences, but employees will not need to provide a GP fit note
5. eligible period for the scheme will commence the day after the regulations on the extension of Statutory Sick Pay to self-isolators comes into force
6. the government will work with employers over the coming months to set up the repayment mechanism for employers as soon as possible. Existing systems are not designed to facilitate employer refunds for SSP.

The new Scheme supports SMEs with access to working capital (including loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance) of up to £5 million in value and for up to 6 years.

The government will pay to cover the first 12 months of interest payments and any lender-levied fees, so smaller businesses will not face any upfront costs and will benefit from lower initial repayments.

The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan (subject to a per-lender cap on claims) to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs.

This scheme is being delivered through commercial lenders, backed by the British Business Bank.

The scheme is now open for applications. You can find out the latest on the British Business Bank website.

Read the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme FAQs on the British Business Bank webpage.

The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) will support large businesses, with an annual turnover of between £45 million and £500 million, to access loans of up to £25 million.

This scheme will help large businesses affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) to access loans of up to £25 million. Find more information on the Gov.UK website.

Under the new Covid-19 Corporate Financing Facility, the Bank of England will buy short term debt from larger companies.

This will support your company if it has been affected by a short-term funding squeeze, and allow you to finance your short-term liabilities.

It will also support corporate finance markets overall and ease the supply of credit to all firms.

Find out more on the Gov.uk website.

All businesses and self-employed people in financial distress, and with outstanding tax liabilities, may be eligible to receive support with their tax affairs through HMRC’s Time To Pay service.

These arrangements are agreed on a case-by-case basis and are tailored to individual circumstances and liabilities.

If you have missed a tax payment or you might miss your next payment due to COVID-19, please call HMRC’s dedicated helpline: 0800 0159 559.

The D2N2 Growth Hub is available to support businesses with recovery, growth, productivity and sustainability. If you would like to speak to a business adviser about any other query not answered on this page, contact the D2N2 Growth Hub enquiry line on 0333 0069178 (lines are open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday) or complete an online enquiry form

Nottingham Jobs is the city council’s one stop service for people who are unemployed or looking for work. In partnership with the local Department for Works & Pensions (DWP) Job Centres, we can offer you one-to-one support over the phone or by email. During the Coronavirus outbreak, we are focused on recruitment to the following vital sectors; Health and Social Care, Retail, Logistics and Driving.

To find out more or speak to one of the team, contact 0115 876 4508 (lines are open 9am to 5pm daily) or email
More information about employment support can be found here.

Advice Nottingham groups (CAB, Law Centre, St Ann’s Advice, Bestwood Advice, Meadows Advice, and Clifton Advice) are all still providing support with benefits, debt, housing and other difficulties. For the time being it is not provided face to face but by phone and email only. Full contact details can be found here.

Nottingham Jobs also provide group workshops and one to one support on a range of subjects to assist employees to develop their skills and understand their employment options. These can be delivered over the phone, by Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Our partners the National Careers Service and Department for Work & Pensions can also provide support on all aspects of employability.
We specialise in

• Career planning
• Helping to understand the local labour market
• Providing advice on developing new skills
• Supporting people to find employment
• Application form advice
• Interview skills and mock interviews
• Advising on covering letters
• CV support

Read the full support document here.

D2N2 Redundancy redeployment info for employers.

Nottingham City Council understands the impact the Coronavirus pandemic is having on our commercial tenants and this link is here to provide whatever support we can for our commercial tenants.

In seeking to address the challenges that the pandemic is causing for our commercial tenants, we have established a process to provide as much direct support, advice and guidance as we are able. Within the main webpage, there are also extensive details about wider support that is available for businesses, and we would encourage you to ensure that you are accessing the full range of support available.

If you are a commercial tenant of Nottingham City Council and currently pay quarterly, we can assist you immediately by moving you to monthly payment terms, and we will not be charging any interest on arrears for the duration of this pandemic.

To change your payment terms or for any other enquiries or requests, please email our dedicated team on where one of the team will seek to respond to you at the earliest opportunity. Please note all requests and enquiries will be treated on a case by case basis.

Understandably, charities are concerned about what to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, so we have set out our response to the most commonly asked questions.

We want to assure charities that our approach to regulation during this uncertain period will be as flexible and pragmatic as possible in the public interest, whilst helping trustees to be aware of and think about the wider or longer impact of their decisions on their charity.

More information can be found on this Gov.UK webpage.

Food businesses such as restaurants and takeaways must stop offering food or drink for consumption on the premises. Food businesses selling food and drink for consumption off the premises can remain open but measures to ensure social distancing and personal hygiene must be maintained. Seating areas connected to the business where consumers would eat or drink must be taken out of use.

Under planning rules, a new national permitted development right (PDR) enables pubs, restaurants and cafes to offer takeaway and delivery services for 12 months. Beyond this time, a planning application would be required for continued use as a takeaway.

The government has produced specific guidance for food businesses on coronavirus available here.

For further information about working in your food business, please contact .

With the exception of non-essential shops and some public venues such as cinemas, beauty premises and leisure premises, businesses are permitted to open. Your employer should prioritise working from home and ensure people showing symptoms of coronavirus are kept away from work in accordance with PHE guidance.

Should you go to work, you should follow the PHE guidelines on social distancing (maintaining a distance of 2 metres from others where possible) and washing hands for at least 20 seconds.

Businesses staying open have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to protect their staff and should update risk assessments to take account of the changes to working practices as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic.

Further advice is available from the Health and Safety Executive at www.hse.gov.uk/news/coronavirus.

If you have concerns or questions about whether your premises should be open/working during the coronavirus pandemic, contact us at .

Trading Standards have seen an increase in reports of scams and fake goods circulating in recent weeks.  Beware of people offering to sell:

• Virus testing kits
• Vaccines or miracle cures
• Claims of refunds from HMRC
• Hand sanitisers and personal protective equipment
• Help with shopping or collecting medicines from people you don’t know

It is now even more important to be vigilant against potential scams.  Never give your personal or banking details to anyone you are not certain of.  Do not open links in unexpected emails.  Banks and the police will never, ever, ask you to give your details over the phone.  More information can be found on https://www.friendsagainstscams.org.uk/shopimages/coronavirus.png

To report anything that you are suspicious of, call Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133

During the better weather, more traders call door to door offering their services such as work doing in the home, garden or garden waste removal. They may take your money without doing any work and if work is carried out, it maybe substandard and overpriced.  Never open your door to cold callers.  If you need work doing, get quotes from three reputable traders – they can be found on trader sites such as Checkatrade.com.  For more information and advice, contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.

Offers to shop for food and/or collecting groceries

Beware of individuals knocking on your door offering to help with food shopping or collecting medicines. They may take your money and not return or they may charge you for their services. Do not let them into your home as they may distract you to steal your belongings. They may also use your personal information for other criminal activity. Only accept help from people you know (neighbours, friends or family).  If you do not have help, call 0115 9155555

Support for our contracted suppliers

We appreciate the commitment and support from our contracted suppliers to maintain services and supplies to the Council during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

During this period we want to work with our suppliers to provide support where we can to those struggling to meet their contractual obligations or those who may have been adversely affected by the need to suspend services or change ways of working.

We want to work together to support our contracted suppliers so that we can all be in a positive position to resume normal contract service delivery as soon as possible once the COVID-19 guidance allows.

The Government has issued 2 Procurement Policy Notes to support this:

1. PPN 01/20 Responding to Covid-19 which provides information and guidance on public procurement regulations and responding to the coronavirus 
2. PPN 02/20 Supplier Relief Due to Covid-19 which sets out information and guidance for public bodies on payment of their suppliers to ensure service continuity during and after the current coronavirus, COVID-19 outbreak.

Supplier Relief

Every contract has its own unique characteristics and the support needed will vary case by case, however, we may be able to offer support such as:

• Accelerated invoice payment
• Increased frequency of invoicing
• Forward ordering of goods/services
• Payments in advance
• Change to delivery locations, frequency and timing of delivery
• Extension of time for contract performance
• Revised milestones or delivery dates

Requesting Relief

To discuss how we can help, please get in touch with your usual client contact at the Council.

Please note: there are commitments and conditions applied to the relief being provided, including the need to agree to open book accounting.  More details of this may be found in the PPN02/20 document.

With the current situation in relation to the Coronavirus (COVID 19), it is vital that as a local authority, we are doing the right thing by our suppliers, and paying you as quickly as possible.

This means that we have amended our invoice payment terms to immediate and ensured that our processes are as streamlined as possible to enable invoices to be processed quickly.

We would remind you that following the points below when you submit invoices for payment will assist us in processing your invoices without unnecessary delay.

Do:

• Always quote a purchase order number if you have one, or the contact name of your customer at Nottingham City Council
• Note the Purchase Order number/contact name in the top third of the invoice, preferably above/below the customer address (see below).
• Where possible, send invoices by email - to [email protected].  Please note that every invoice should be attached to a separate email.
• For invoices by post, the postal address is:

Nottingham City Council
PO Box 1475
Northampton
NN2 1EQ

Please note: this address should be quoted on all invoices, whether sent by post or by email

Do not:

• Note the purchase order in the body of the invoice as this will be more difficult for our scanning solution to identify. It needs to be in the invoice header, preferably in its own field.
• Send an invoice without a PO number or contact name, as this will delay payment
• Send a second copy of your invoice, as this will be identified as a duplicate and may cause processing delays. If you are unsure if an invoice has been received, please contact or call 0300 303 0222
• Send invoices to your contact at Nottingham City Council – this may delay processing and payment.
• Attach more than one invoice to an email, as this will cause problems for our scanning solution. Please remember, one invoice per email