The Government’s Furlough scheme is now live. Here at Holy Brook we’ve been helping clients decide if it is right for them and with submitting claims.
So what have we learnt?
Well firstly it is a scheme that if your business is eligible and you need it is relatively simple to apply, and the eligibility is relatively broad. You’ll need in purely practical terms to gather all the information you need before you start your claim (see below for some free help we have for you with that)
However, it inevitably with any scheme like this put together in an emergancy there are some key issues.
Firstly, the amount you can claim is based on PAYE so for those who pay themselves partially or even only through dividends a big chunk of your income isn’t eligible.
Additionally and potentially very seriously for small businesses with just a couple or even one key employee when you are furloughed you are not working, and this could be very problematic for a business owner who is trying to ensure their business survives.
Having said that it’s worth looking at the scheme in detail – for example the fact that a business can furlough an employee for as little as 3 weeks gives some flexiblity.
In order to help our clients and community consider all the issues we’ve put together a FAQ document and a template to complete before applying. You can access it signing up to join our free monthly update here