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The country has been blocked for a month and the government has unveiled an unprecedented support package for companies worth hundreds of billions of pounds.
But some workers are still concerned about losing their jobs, and business owners still fear collapse.
Today, Money Mail highlights the cracks where government money is not going. We can reveal that:
Judith Richards, 64, and husband Jason, 57, who offer tricycle tours of rural beauty spots, are unable to obtain grants of up to £ 25,000 because they do not pay commercial fees.
- Businesses are still unable to obtain vital government loans. A company that tests workers for the NHS now has a portfolio of 5,000 employees because it doesn’t meet the criteria.
- Independent business owners do not qualify for help because they do not have documentation and are not paid in dividends.
- Workers in new jobs have run out of income because they do not qualify for cash payment.
- New companies have been denied support because they don’t have enough money in the bank.
It occurs when the Treasury opened its Job Retention Plan fund on Monday morning and more than 144,000 employers filed claims for more than a million employees on the first day.
Last week, figures released by UK Finance revealed that only 2.6 per cent of Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Plan (CBILS) applications had been successful, representing just £ 8.7 billion of the promised £ 330 billion by Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Figures from the bank trade agency showed that only 6,020 loans had been agreed last Tuesday, out of 300,000 initial inquiries and 28,460 requests submitted.
Andrew Goodacre, executive director of the British Association of Independent Retailers, says that about 30 percent of the 4,000 members of his trade body will not be able to reopen after the outbreak.
He adds: “There is concern that the coronavirus will accelerate the perceived decline of High Street.”
I started my new job too late
Natalie Greenway started a new job after the fund deadline of March 19
Natalie Greenway will have no income for at least three months because she is not eligible for the government license plan.
It is among the tens of thousands of workers who started a new job after the fund deadline of March 19.
Coronavirus’ job retention scheme allows companies to suspend staff while the government pays 80 percent of their salary, up to £ 2,500 per month.
24-year-old Natalie from Burbage, Leicestershire started a new job as a customer service manager on March 16, but her company did not notify HMRC of its first payment until March 31.
She had been on the job for two weeks before she was put on unpaid leave. She was saving for a deposit on a house, so she is not eligible for Universal Credit.
Anyone with savings of more than £ 16,000 is not eligible. She says: “The Government has ruled us out as collateral damage.”
But the government has closed some of the cracks. A total of £ 1.25 billion was spent over the weekend to support start-up companies that were not eligible for existing coronavirus support schemes.
And £ 10,000 and £ 25,000 grants for small retail, entertainment and hospital businesses are beginning to land on bank accounts.
However, some companies and individuals still do not because they do not meet the criteria for financial aid.
NHS STAFF CONFUSION
The NHS is hungry for front-line staff because a company that verifies worker qualifications is not receiving the support it needs from the government.
Medic Check conducts background checks on everyone from volunteers to surgeons starting the NHS, in addition to providing a similar nursing home service.
John Burke, 63, who helps run the business, says he’s over 5,000 applications late because the company can’t get a loan, which in turn is delaying the arrival of frontline staff to vital health.
Medic Check is one of thousands of companies struggling to claim state aid under the government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Plan (CBILS).
The loans are provided by the High Street banks and the Government will assume 80 percent of the losses. But because banks still have to bear 20 percent of the risk, they have been asking for detailed financial information and forecasts that companies cannot provide at full speed.
John says Medic Check first contacted Barclays to get a loan about a month ago. After a brief phone call, the company received an email on April 11 stating that the bank did not believe it was eligible.
The company has been asked to provide full-year accounts, which John says it cannot do because it was only created in September of last year.
He has also been asked to provide a forecast for the next 12 months, which John says is impossible because he cannot know how the business will be affected by the pandemic.
Nor does he believe the business is eligible for new support measures for startups because he has not raised £ 250,000 privately in the past five years.
He says the company desperately needs the cash to buy high-tech scanners for staff working from home. “If we can’t control the staff, then people are not going to take them on,” he adds.
Barclays says he has not yet received an official Medic Check loan application, but is “happy to review and assist” his application.
A spokesperson adds: “We are processing very significant volumes of CBILS loans and we are doing everything we can to get money to thousands of companies as quickly as possible under the scheme.”
BANK BRUSH
New business owners also believe they may be at a disadvantage when applying for CBILS loans.
Amy Bracher, 31, applied for a £ 50,000 loan with Lloyds Bank to keep her company, Phoenix Raven Recruitment, afloat. But it was rejected because it had overdrawn in the past.
Amy from Shepshed, Leicestershire, established the company in May last year and has so far made a profit of £ 75,000. But their profits began to decline in early March when companies began letting their agency workers go and put recruiting on hold.
However, when she applied for a loan from Lloyds last month, she was rejected. Reasons given by her bank included the fact that she had incurred her overdraft several times between November and February.
Amy says, “I feel like I’m being penalized for having a young business and most people would say that I’m doing well to make a profit in my first year.” This loan scheme was my only contingency plan, and without Lloyds help I doubt I have a business by 2021. ‘
A spokesperson for Lloyds Bank declined to comment on Amy’s case, but said: ‘In order to qualify for CBILS or our own support, among a number of criteria, companies must be healthy and viable before the Covid-19 outbreak and able pay. additional loans based on your financial performance before the outbreak. “
TOO SMALL FOR HELP
A couple who run a small tourism business in the Yorkshire Dales say they have “been left to fend for themselves.”
Judith Richards, 64, and her husband Jason, 57, offer tricycle tours of rural locations and have seen their company grow steadily since it was created six years ago.
The coronavirus outbreak ended businesses and the income of the entire family.
But because it is a home-based husband-and-wife business, it is not eligible for the relief available to larger companies.
They cannot obtain grants of up to £ 25,000 because they do not pay commercial fees and her husband is not eligible for the Job Retention Plan because he is not on the payroll.
Judith says they have applied for Universal Credit but will not know if they will get anything until May 2.
The company was granted a loan through the government-backed Coronavirus business interruption loan program, but the money has not yet reached its accounts. Judith adds: ‘If you are suspended, your employees can claim a refund of money that does not have to be returned.
‘If you pay business fees, you can get a grant, but if you are one of thousands of small businesses like ours, you are likely to get a large loan that you will have to pay back. That will make life difficult for you. We have been hung up to dry.
THERE IS NOT ENOUGH CASH
Fledgling founder Marie Farmer fears she hasn’t raised enough money to be eligible for help. This week HM Treasury announced a £ 1.25 billion package to support startups that are not eligible for other bailout schemes.
A new £ 500m investment fund, the Future Fund, is designed to assist high-growth companies.
Budding founder Marie Farmer fears she hasn’t raised enough money to be eligible for help
And more than £ 750 million will be awarded in grants and loans to small and medium-sized companies that focus on research and development. Marie, 30, wants to apply for the Future Fund, made up of public and private sector funds.
But to qualify a company you must have raised £ 250,000 privately in the last five years. Marie is the founder of Mini Mealtimes, a family nutrition app.
She and her team started building the app in 2018 and it launched in January of this year. He previously raised £ 60,000 for the company and is now trying to raise £ 350,000 before the end of May.
But while you have raised just under £ 200,000 so far, if you do not reach your total you will receive no money from the investment.
Marie, who lives with her four-year-old son August and her husband James, 35, in north London, says: “The coronavirus outbreak has scared many potential investors.”
THIN COLLECTIONS
Hannah Murphy has seen her fitness business stall, but she won’t know if she is eligible for support until June.
The Government has said it will offer cash subsidies of up to £ 2,500 per month to self-employed workers. But anyone with earnings of more than £ 50,000 a year will not be eligible.
Hannah, 35, of Fareham, Hampshire, started Globe Fit with her husband Tom, 36, seven years ago and works with 40 independent instructors.
Her general income is above this threshold, but includes dividends from her husband’s company.
Your accountant has told you that dividend income should not be counted and that your own account income will be less than £ 50,000.
Meanwhile, she is not eligible for small business grants of up to £ 25,000 because she does not pay business taxes, nor is she eligible for Universal Credit because her husband is still working as a project manager.
“I can’t claim right now,” she says. “If my husband is suddenly out of a job, there is nothing we can do other than apply for Universal Credit.”
Other business owners could lose because their dividend income is not counted. Those who pay mostly dividends will not receive 80 percent of their total income.
Freelance journalist and RAF veteran Andy Wasley, 37, only registered as a sole trader in April last year, so his average earnings will not be partially covered by the government bailout plan because he doesn’t have a year full of accounts.
He says: ‘I will not qualify for any help. I feel completely discouraged.
Andy, from Sutton, South London, spent 17 years in the RAF, including tours of Afghanistan, before leaving in 2018. He hoped to earn around £ 27,000 this year, but has now seen all of his future writing commissions run out.
A Treasury spokesman says: “We are taking unprecedented steps to support public services, businesses and individuals through this economic emergency.”
“All of our support is aimed at ensuring that we use public funds responsibly, helping those who need it most and minimizing the risk of fraud.”
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