8th July 2020
Rishi Sunak announced the latest Government incentives as outlined below: –
Job Retention Bonus
Employers will be able to claim a bonus Grant of £1,000 per employee where the employee has been brought back from furlough and is employed until the end of January 2021.
The bonus is claimable where the employee earns a minimum of £520 per month for November 2020 to January 2021.
This is to incentivise the retention of staff once the furlough scheme comes to an end at the end of October 2020.
Kickstart Scheme
This is aimed at new employees aged between 16 and 24. To qualify, employers need to create new jobs and the employee must work at least 25 hours per week and be paid at least the National Minimum Wage.
The Government will then cover the wages of the new employee for 6 months and also contribute to overheads in relation to the employee.
Traineeships
Any employer taking on a trainee will receive a Grant of £1,000 per trainee.
Please note that trainees are different to apprentices and different rules apply when taking on a trainee.
Apprenticeships
Employers taking on apprentices will receive a Grant of £2,000 per apprentice where the apprentice is aged between 16 and 24.
For apprentices over 25, the Grant available is £1,500.
VAT rate reduction for the hospitality and tourism sectors
With effect from Wednesday 15th July 2020, businesses in the hospitality and tourism sectors will see the VAT charged on their sales drop to 5%.
This change is in place for 6 months and will end on 12th January 2021.
This applies to eat-in and hot takeaway food, non-alcoholic drinks from restaurants, cafes and pubs.
Accommodation charges by hotels, B&B’s, campsites and caravan sites will also be able to use the new VAT rate.
Cinemas, zoos and theme parks are also included.
Stamp Duty
With immediate effect, the Stamp Duty exemption on property purchases will increase to £500,000 (currently £125,000).
The extension will run to 31st March 2021.
Therefore, any property purchased for less than £500,000 will see no Stamp Duty payable. Please note however that if you are purchasing a second property or property via a Limited Company then the 3% surcharge will still apply.
For properties purchased for over £500,000, normal rates of 5% and 10% will apply depending on the purchase price.