Omnicron Business Support

The Government has announced an additional Omnicron business support package for business most affected by the Omicron variant of Covid 19. Some summary details are below.

Additional Omnicron Business Support Measures

• Businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors in England will be eligible for one-off grants of up to £6,000 per premises.
• More than £100 million of discretionary funding will be made available for local authorities to support other businesses.
• £30 million of further funding will be made available through the Culture Recovery Fund, enabling more cultural organisations in England to apply for support during the winter.
• There is also continuing financial support (including the availability of time to pay arrangements) if you are facing difficulty making tax payments. You can find more information by searching for ‘Omicron support for businesses’ on GOV.UK.

For businesses based elsewhere, the Welsh Government announced £120m of funding for business in the retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors, and their supply chains, with registrations opening on the 10th January. Scotland has also announced a £100m support package for business who operate in similar affected industries.

Applications for council grants should be made to your relevant local authority. Keep an eye out for more information available on your local council webpages over the coming days.

Sick Pay Rebate Scheme

Also reintroduced is the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme for employers with less than 250 employees. The government will cover the cost of the relevant rate of Statutory Sick Pay for coronavirus-related absences paid to either current or former employees, for sick periods starting on or after the 21st December.

We expect more details about the Omnicron Business Support measures in due course and it is always possible that accouncements about additional support will be announced in the New Year