We hope this directory of resources and links will be helpful as you work your way through the COVID-19 emergency. We will keep it updated with details of new support resources for businesses and publishers. If you would like to share anything that you have found particularly useful, please get in touch and we’ll add it here.

Last updated: Wednesday 21 July

Click the topic below to jump straight to the section.

Survey of impacts on IPG members

Health and personal guidance

Croner Business Support Helpline

General business support and helplines 

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Kickstart scheme

Workplaces and reopening offices 

Recovery Loan Scheme

Late payment support

Corporate Financing Facility

Self-employment support scheme

International trade

Tax

Sick pay and holiday pay

Universal Credit

Working from home

Wellbeing

The Book Trade Charity 

Insolvency 

Voluntary, community and social enterprise support

Sharing feedback

Staying updated

Health and personal guidance

The NHS has a comprehensive and continually updated guide to COVID-19, symptoms, prevention, responses and much more.

The government pools general coronavirus guidance and the latest requirements and restrictions here.

The government has detailed guidance to help employers and employees work safely during the pandemic if they return to workplaces, including social distancing. Specific guidance for office environments is here.

Croner Business Support Helpline

The IPG’s Croner Business Support Helpline is available for free and unlimited advice about the impact of coronavirus on employment, legal, health and safety and other matters. Do take advantage of this service if you are unsure about anything.

Croner has also provided a useful coronavirus HR toolkit, including a guide to obligations, law and hygiene, an HR factsheet and a checklist for employers.

General business support and helplines

The best way to find out which grants, loans, tax relief and other forms of support you are eligible for is to use the government’s Support Finder tool.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has a helpline for any businesses in England. It has increased capacity during the crisis. The number is FREEPHONE 0800 998 1098.

Local coronavirus-related support in England is also being delivered via Growth Hubs—public and private sector partnerships steered by the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). To find your local Growth Hub, click here.

The Scottish government has a separate support helpline for businesses. The number is 0300 303 0660.

The Welsh government has a separate business support helpline. The number is 0300 060 3000.

The Invest Northern Ireland helpline number is 0800 181 4422.

If there is a business issue that you would like us to raise within government on your behalf, please email us.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was set up to provide businesses with financial support to pay employees while they were not at work, and so protect their jobs. The Scheme will operate until the end of September 2021.

The scheme gives employees 80% of their salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500. Businesses have flexibility to bring employees back to work on a part-time basis, and will pay National Insurance and pension contributions.

Employers will contribute 10% of wages in July and 20% of wages in August and September 2021, with the Scheme contributing 70% and 60% of wages in the two months respectively.

This is the government’s starting point for claiming under the Job Retention Scheme. There is a step-by-step guide to claiming for wages under the scheme.

This tool helps you calculate how much you can claim under the furloughing scheme, and this is a guide to the eligibility of staff for the scheme, how much you can claim, the things you need to do to claim and the restrictions on staff on furlough. There are examples of how to calculate claims .

This is a list of deadlines by which claims must be made. Claims for July 2021 must be made by 16 August; claims for August 2021 must be made by 14 September; and claims for September 2021 must be made by 14 October.

For employees, there is an online checker tool to see if businesses are able to place you on furlough . There is also advice about what you can and can’t do while on furlough, and what to do if you do not wish to go on furlough .

A template for businesses claiming for 100 or more employees can be downloaded here.

If you think you may have claimed too much or not enough under the scheme, guidance is here.

Kickstart scheme

The government has also launched a Kickstart Scheme that encourages employers to take on young members of staff. Funding is available to pay 100% of the National Minimum Wage for up to 25 hours of work a week, plus associated NI and pension contributions, and employers can top up this money if they wish. Participants must be aged 16 to 24 and be claiming Universal Credit. Employers can spread the start date of the job placements up until the end of December 2021.

There is no minimum number of placements on applications. You can check eligibility and apply for funding under the Kickstart Scheme here. 

If you are unsure about any aspect of the scheme, the Croner Business Support Helpline can help. Applications can be made here.

Workplaces and reopening offices

The government has a tool to help businesses in England carry out risk assessments, adjust workplaces and comply with legal responsibilities to protect employees..

The IPG Skills Hub has some excellent guidance for reopening offices safely from Jane Mann of Fox Williams LLP. It sets out steps to take to open safely, including a round-up of relevant legislation, government instructions to follow and documentation to prepare.

The Health and Safety Executive has an extensive guide to working safely during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The HSE also has risk assessment templates and examples.

The Department for Health is encouraging businesses to download a new toolkit to provide workplace information about Covid-19 vaccines and encourage staff to get them. It includes key messages, posters, videos, fact sheets, Q&As and resources for websites and social media. The toolkit is here, and background information about it is here.

After carrying out a risk assessment, a notice is available for display to show that you have complied with all necessary guidance. 

The government’s Test and Trace system also has implications for employers. There is specific guidance for workplaces, including the role of employers and advice for employees.

Recovery Loan Scheme

A Recovery Loan Scheme will be available from until 31 December 2021.

The scheme offers loans of £25,000 to £10m, with 80% of the finance guaranteed by the government. Terms are up to six years, and no personal guarantees are needed on loans up to £250,000. Eligibility information is here.

Loans are supplied by accredited lenders. You can find a list of them and begin the application process here.

Late payment support

The Small Business Commissioner is offering advice and help if you are trying to recover money owed to you. Its website has general advice for chasing invoices, checking contracts and calculating interest, plus case studies of how it has helped.

You can contact the Small Business Commissioner here.

Corporate Financing Facility

The Covid Corporate Financing Facility was set up by the Bank of England to buy short-term debt from large companies. The Bank has details of eligibility and practicalities of applying.

Self-employment support scheme

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme was set up to provide grants to self-employed individuals or partnerships whose income has been impacted by coronavirus.

The fifth and final grant under the scheme will cover trading from May to September 2021. Its value will be determined by turnover in the tax year from April 2020 to April 2021. For those who have seen a reduction of more than 30%, it will provide 80% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at £7,500. For those who have seen a reduction of less than 30%, it will provide 30% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at £2,850. HMRC is contacting people it thinks are eligible from mid-July, and claims will open in late July. All claims must be made by the end of September. Details are here.

If you have been overpaid, made a mistaken claim, were not eligible or would like to make a voluntary repayment, guidance is here.

Self-employed people will be eligible for other government support including Universal Credit.

International trade

The Department for International Trade has issued guidance for UK businesses trading overseas during the crisis .

DIT can help in particular with advice on business continuity, IP issues, customs clearances and finding alternative supply chain partners in its network. You can access a special support team by emailing [email protected].

For support with business projects overseas, DIT recommends contacting the nearest UK embassy or consulate. You can search for those here.

UK Export Finance says it can help with international cash flow by guaranteeing loans through the Export Working Capital Scheme.

UKEF offers an insurance policy that can help you recover the costs of fulfilling orders that are terminated by events beyond your control. It can also support finance for overseas buyers via the Direct Lending Facility scheme.

The government updates its advice about international travel here.

Tax

A helpline is available to provide support to businesses with questions or concerns about their tax liabilities. If you have concerns about forthcoming tax payments, you are encouraged to call HMRC, who will agree arrangements on a case-by-case basis. The helpline number is 0800 024 1222, and it is open from 8am to 4pm from Monday to Friday.

Sick pay and holiday pay

The government has issued guidance on claiming back Statutory Sick Pay that has been paid to employees who are not working due to coronavirus. It includes of eligibility for the scheme and the records you must keep. The scheme covers full and part time employees, plus those on agency and flexible contracts. A guide to eligibility for the scheme is here.

You can submit claims under the scheme here. The list of what you need to do so is here.

Guidance on certifying absence from work for sickness or to look after a dependent is here.

A guide to getting isolation notes is here.

The government has issued detailed guidance about employers’ responsibilities on holiday entitlement and pay during the pandemic.

Universal Credit

Universal Credit benefits and eligibility have changed because of the coronavirus crisis. People who need help working out eligibility and navigating the system should start here.

Working from home

If you find yourself working from home for the first time, this blog shares some advice from the IPG team.

This blog has tips about managing home workers.

The government has compiled some general advice about cyber security and preventing fraud and data breaches during the lockdown.

The National Cyber Security Centre has advice for keeping home workers’ IT secure and staying alert to coronavirus-related scams.

This is a guide to the expenses that are taxable if you or your employees are working from home due to COVID-19.

Wellbeing

MIND has some very good resources to help if you have wellbeing concerns for yourself or others, including planning for staying indoors, connecting with people and keeping relaxed and stimulated.

The IPG Skills Hub has a detailed resource to help with general work-related stress.

The Book Trade Charity

If you work in the book trade and are in urgent need of financial help, The Book Trade Charity may be able to help. Email [email protected] in confidence.

Insolvency

Businesses in financial difficulty can apply for a moratorium under the new Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act. It is intended to give struggling businesses breathing space in which to develop rescue plans and restructuring options, without the pressure of insolvency proceedings from creditors. The moratorium lasts 20 business days with the possibility of extension, and is managed by a monitor from a licenced insolvency practice. Companies must supply notice of a moratorium to Companies House. The details of the process are here.

Voluntary, community and social enterprise support

If you would like to offer services, funds and volunteers to community and social enterprise groups during the crisis, the government has guidance.

Sharing feedback

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is asking for views about the business impacts of COVID-19 across supply, demand and labour markets, the actions taken to address them, and the gaps in the government’s response. You can email intelligence direct to the BEIS. Information supplied will be treated confidentially.

Survey of impacts on IPG members

In October and November 2020 we surveyed members about the impacts of the pandemic on their businesses. You can read our analysis of the results, and the very interesting comments of our respondents, here.

Staying updated

This page will be frequently updated with the latest resources relevant to publishing. We will also endeavour to share useful material via Twitter.

The government issues a useful Coronavirus Businesses Bulletin to update people on the latest resources most days. You can sign up for the government's ebulletin here.

You can monitor the government’s latest advice and support, and sign up for its coronavirus email alerts.
SMS alerts are being sent with the support of mobile phone networks.

If you are on social media, following the business support campaign on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn is a good way to get the latest resources—including alerts for when applications to various schemes go live. 

If you would like to share resources or links that you have found particularly useful with fellow members, please get in touch and we’ll add them to this page.