Association Update

RECENT ONLINE MEETING

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard recently did a presentation entitled ‘where are the people?’ on how high street footfall has changed with COVID-19. If you missed it go to: www.sandwich.org.uk/images/attachments/2020/springboardpresentation-21102020.pdf. Springboard’s free consumer attitude survey will be available at www.spring-board.info from 2 November.

FACE COVERINGS

They only need to be worn by staff when they are likely to come into contact with members of the public. Staff who are in back of house areas, to which the public do not have access (such as a kitchen in a restaurant), are not required under these regulations to wear a face covering.

With regards to screens specifically – If businesses have taken steps in line with HSE guidance for COVID-19 secure workplaces, to create a physical barrier between workers and members of the public, then staff behind the barrier will not be required to wear a face covering. Local authorities and the Health and Safety Executive can consider a range of enforcement actions over Perspex screens which do not adequately address the risks to comply with the relevant legislation and guidance for COVID-19 secure workplaces.

WELSH GOVERNMENT

Wales has announced a ‘fire-break’ which started on 23 October and will end on Monday 9 November. It applies to everyone living in Wales and replaces the local restrictions which are in force in some parts of the country.

Businesses will also be able to access the support available through the existing Job Retention Scheme or the new expanded Job Support Scheme.

An overview can be found on the Welsh Government website at: https://gov.wales/national-coronavirus-fire-break-to-be-introducedin-wales-on-friday

The Welsh government has also announced it is increasing the amount available in the third phase of the Economic Resilience Fund to nearly £300m to support businesses through the ‘fire-break’. More information can be found on the Business Wales website

BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ID CHECKS

The Home Office has clarified the position regarding the responsibility for businesses to record the names and addresses of guests. They say businesses should take reasonable steps to encourage individuals to adhere to COVID-19 restrictions. There is no legal requirement for businesses to check guest IDs, nor to take action to enforce COVID-19 regulations - enforcement lies with the police and Local Authorities. And no action is being threatened if a business does not check individual IDs/addresses.

JOB SUPPORT SCHEME - OPEN

The Chancellor’s announced changes to the JSS reduces the employer contribution to those unworked hours to just 5%, and reduces the minimum hours requirements to 20%, so those working just one day a week will be eligible. Employers using the scheme will also be able to claim the Job Retention Bonus (JRB) for each employee that meets the eligibility criteria of the JRB. This is worth £1,000 per employee. Taking JSS-Open and JRB together, an employer could receive over 95% of the total wage costs of their employees if they are retained until February.

BUSINESS GRANTS

The Chancellor has also announced approved additional funding to support cash grants of up to £2,100 per month, primarily for businesses in the hospitality, accommodation and leisure sector who may be adversely impacted by the restrictions in high-alert level areas. These grants will be available retrospectively for areas who have already been subject to restrictions and come on top of higher levels of additional business support for Local Authorities moving into Tier 3.

It will be up to Local Authorities to determine which businesses are eligible for grant funding in their local areas, and what precise funding to allocate to each business.

Businesses in Very High Alert Level areas will qualify for greater support whether closed (up to £3,000/month) or open. In the latter case support is being provided through business support packages provided to Local Authorities as they move into the alert level.

NEW MEMBER PAPAYA

Papaya is an organisation that is dedicated to helping businesses thrive through the power of business insight and the streamlining of processes.

Working with their customers, they help businesses to overcome some of their biggest challenges, eradicating cumbersome and time-consuming procedures, while enabling the safeguarding and development of their most prized assets; their people.

Using their platform, businesses can replace manual processes, eliminate paper-based systems and put their hands on accurate information anytime, anywhere.

What we do

Papaya offers learning and development, health and safety, compliance, integrated e-learning, real time reporting, incident reporting and management, and contractor control through Management Information software designed to streamline processes all via a single platform.

Papaya enables businesses enhance internal procedures for training and reporting and allows you to extract insight from your business and enable better decision making, driving productivity and adding value to your bottom line.

For further information contact: Tel: 01780 758560 Email: solutions@papayauk.com https://papayauk.com/