As part of their response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government announced the introduction of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. With a view to answering common questions, Goldstein Legal will provide regular updates through this blog to help clarify the Scheme and its provisions. Readers are advised that the below information is accurate at the date of publication. It is our intention to keep this information as up to date as possible and revise as necessary when new information comes to light. What is the Scheme? The Job Retention Scheme is a government initiative designed to avoid redundancies. The Scheme…

During this very challenging time, we hope you’re staying safe. The rapidly developing news of the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic and how it is impacting on our families, friends and own lives is a huge concern for us all. Understandably, people are worried about the general economic outlook, and none more so than business owners who have seen their businesses brought to a halt. When we surface from this unprecedented time of confusion and economic shutdown, it is predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility in figures released last week that the rapid economic downturn will be followed by…

Tips to maintaining a positive attitude. We’ve all been there once; especially coming up to summer and the winter hibernation pounds are still sticking like glue. Negativity has an immense impact on how we feel, work and even interact with others, so why do we let the dark cloud settle over us so much? Simple. It’s easier just to dwell on the bad around us and ‘deal with it’ instead of seeing the light at  the end of the tunnel. In my opinion, washing the negativity from your life is the key to success. Why? Because everything will be in…

Our practical solution to the Coronavirus challenge Aspen Waite recognise these are worrying times, it is almost certain that all of us will be affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. This could be in a number of ways: staff sickness, reduced customer demand, payment worries, shortage of supplies and many more. Latest Guidance Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – Guidance Support for the Self-Employed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme  VAT Payment Deferrals  Welsh Businesses: £100m Loans Information Welsh Businesses: £500m Business Resilience Relief Fund Aspen Waite strives to ensure any guidance they provide is accurate, however, the information is based on their interpretation of what has been announced, is subject to…

Countries from around the world today joined the UK in pledging to give everyone equal access to new coronavirus vaccines and treatments around the world. UK is one of 20 countries and global organisations, like the WHO, to pledge to give the world access to new vaccines and treatments Pledge follows calls from the PM and UK Ministers for greater global co-operation in fight against coronavirus UK will also virtually co-host new Coronavirus Global Response Summit on 4 May 2020 Countries from around the world today (Friday, 24 April) joined the UK in pledging to give everyone equal access to…

Rolls-Royce has invited a group of leading companies to collaborate on Emer2gent, a new alliance of data analytics experts challenged with finding new, faster ways of supporting businesses and governments globally as they recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19. Early alliance members are Leeds Institute for Data Analytics, IBM, Google Cloud, The Data City, Truata, Rolls-Royce and ODI Leeds. The alliance will be facilitated and co-ordinated by innovation specialists, Whitespace. Together the initial wave of members brings all the key elements of open innovation; data publication, licensing, privacy, security; data analytics capability; and collaborative infrastructure, to kick off its…

Do you worry that your service or product isn’t good enough? Don’t worry it’s more common than you think, you are not alone. This is something I see a lot with start-up businesses and entrepreneurs. It even has a name.. Impostor Syndrome “Impostor syndrome is a term referring to high-achieving individuals marked by an inability to internalize their accomplishments and a persistent fear of being exposed as a “fraud”. Despite external evidence of their competence, those exhibiting the syndrome remain convinced that they are frauds and do not deserve the success they have achieved. Proof of success is dismissed as luck, timing, or…

Paul Holmes, managing director of PCH Business Support Ltd, has been awarded the contract to run one-to-one business support on behalf of OxLEP (local enterprise partnership) and the Oxfordshire Growth Hub as part of their response to the Covid19 pandemic. The business man from Swindon will be running virtual sessions with business owners needing help and guidance as a result of the current situation. He said: ““Having worked closely with the OxLEP Growth Hub team over the last six months I am absolutely delighted to be invited to deliver much needed support for business owners across the county. I love…

Five business owners who live in and around the Cotswolds have come together to support local young people who have had their GCSEs and A levels cancelled. The Cotswold Challenge initiative was developed solely to support 16 to 19 year olds in the Cotswolds area to give them something creative to do and offer them the chance to excel, gain a sense of achievement and self-worth and maybe win a monetary prize.  The Challenge launched Monday April 20 and remains open until noon on Monday June 1. Young people who take part must live in the Cotswolds area and for those…

Food entrepreneur Julianne Ponan has donated hundreds of allergy-free snack bars to her local hospital where staff saved her life. Julianne, aged 30, who lives in Waltham on Thames, suffers from anaphylaxis which means she’s at risk of falling very ill suddenly from eating the wrong things and having an intense allergic reaction. She’s become known as a campaigner around food allergies. However, staff at St Peter’s Hospital Chertsey saved her when she suffered three attacks of acute pancreatitis – the first and most serious attack when she was just nine years old. “Now is the time when someone like…

Everyone is still trying to come to terms with how the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has changed the way of life and how businesses operate. The situation is beyond anything that most have experienced or ever thought likely to be facing, and it has evolved at a rapid pace. Neil Robbins, sales manager for Hills Waste Solutions said: “At Hills we have been able to respond to the immense challenges presented by this fast moving situation and remain in a position to continue to provide the essential waste management services required by the commercial, industrial and construction sectors.” “Our team of…

Following the release of the Coronavirus Financial Government Schemes, Centric HR compiled a document to help businesses understand what schemes are available to you from the government. “We understand this is a very stressful and upsetting time for all businesses so we would like to help in any way we can.” Download the document below and we hope you will find that the information will benefit you in some way.

Pandemic – It’s getting quiet out there The Coronavirus (Covid 19) has really put a spanner in the works with regards to how we go about our daily business, both in our personal and professional lives. We’re all unsettled about what’s happening in our communities, both economically and socially. In a business context, we’re having to adapt to digital meetings as opposed to face to face. Events and exhibitions are cancelled and we’re not even able to go in to the office. No one is certain how long this situation will continue. But one thing is for sure – we’re…

BCC responds to UK Finance’s update on Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme applications. Commenting on the latest UK Finance update on the number of firms successfully accessing CBILS, the BCC’s Head of Economics Suren Thiru said: “The increase in companies accessing CBILS is encouraging progress. However, the number of applications processed and approved will need to be increased significantly in what is a crunch week for firms urgently trying to access financial support. “Our Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker tells us that a concerningly high number of businesses are still finding accessing the scheme too complex and too lengthy. The government…

This month SME Today have been able to meet CEO of Quote4Energy Lynsey Jones. Lynsey has been in the energy industry for more than 2 decades. She has experience managing both SME and Strategic Brokers, covering private and public-sector customers from the SME and Industrial and Commercial sectors. She came to understand that business owners don’t want to spend hours dealing with suppliers, and the pricing complexity related to energy contracts. They just want to focus on running their business. Lynsey you are an established and successful entrepreneur – please tell us about your background…… Having personally managed more than 30 different energy…

South West companies have won contracts with the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset worth more than £1.3billion. More than £650million has already been spent with the region’s businesses and the project is creating opportunities for companies and workers, as well as reinvigorating UK industry, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has said. The South West is set to benefit by £200million each year during peak construction, according to a BEIS report, with £4billion being generated for the regional economy over the lifetime of the project. Minister for business and industry Richard Harrington MP said:…