Major new restrictions, expected to be announced on Monday 12 Oct 2020, are likely to mean that in the areas of England at highest risk of Covid-19 many businesses in the hospitality sector (pubs and restaurants in the main) will be forced to close.

Alan Lewis, Express courier sector legal expert and partner at Constantine Law explains the new extensions to the job support scheme.

The Government has announced an extended Job Support Scheme to support businesses that are affected by these restrictions by paying two-thirds of each employee's salary, up to a maximum of £2,100 per month per person.

What does this mean for the express courier sector? The support for this sector is limited, in that it will be available for firms that are required to provide ONLY delivery and collection services from the premises of the businesses forced to close, or food and drink outdoors. Employers will only be asked to cover employer national insurance contributions and pension contributions.

Alan says,

Whilst this additional support announced by the Chancellor on Friday is welcome, the math just does not add up. Affected business will have no income at all and will still have to fund the employer NiCs and pension contributions. In addition, this is a ‘pay first and claim back’ situation, where the grants are claimed after payments have been made, which means cash-flow difficulties.