Further help needed

From August, employers will have to pay national insurance contributions (NICs) and pension contributions for furloughed staff . From next month, the percentage of employee wages paid through the Job Retention Scheme to furloughed staff will be reduced in stages, with employers taking on an increasing proportion of pay for those who are furloughed.

Firms in England that hire an apprentice aged between 16 and 24 between now and January will receive £2,000. Those that hire new apprentices aged 25 and over will be paid £1,500. New fi gures show that apprenticeship starts in May of this year stood at 9,000, down 60% from this time last year.

Commenting on the developments, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) National Chairman Mike Cherry said: “One in fi ve small fi rms have been forced to let staff go over the last three months. Even with critical emergency measures in place, jobs are sadly being lost in the here and now. As we look to the autumn, it’s clear that we cannot aff ord to pull up the business support drawbridge any time soon.

“Giving fi rms £1,000 for every employee they bring back from furlough is welcome, but Job Retention Bonus funds won’t manifest until next year – jobs are being lost today.

“In addition to job retention, the Chancellor should be looking at job creation. Nine in ten people who moved from unemployment back into work following the crash did so via a small business or self-employment. This recession will be deeper than the last, and the annual cost of running a small business has soared by at least £60,000 since 2011, primarily due to rising employment costs.

“That’s why we’re seeking help for employers where NICs are concerned, either through an uprating of the Employment Allowance or a NICs holiday for fi rms who employ those furthest from the workplace.

Jim Cunliff e, FSB Sussex Area leader, added: “Greater incentives to take on apprentices in England are much needed. Policymakers have to ensure that proposed funds reach the small fi rms that can make a diff erence with minimal bureaucracy. More than 90% of apprentices employed by small businesses are under the age of 25. Once again, this is money that will take several months, at the very least, to reach fi rms.

“It’s great that more small businesses in England can fi nally open their doors after months of no revenue coming in. Further targeted support for those having to remain shut is urgently needed, especially in areas where local lockdowns are in place, as is help for the hundreds and thousands of people – including company directors and the newly self-employed – who have received no support at all for more than 130 days.”

hitting the right note Crawley-based corporate fi nance specialists Riley Violins in order to further develop The String Watersheds have enabled a couple who Zone and refocus it as an independent company. transformed their specialist violin shop into When they took the decision to retire last year a thriving online retail business to sell their they discussed their plans with Watersheds, who business, despite the Covid-19 lockdown. generated a lot of interest in the business. Strings

In a deal led and executed by corporate fi nance and Things, a wholesale distributor of musical specialists Watersheds, who have an offi ce in The instruments and accessories based in Shoreham by Beehive Building at Gatwick, online retailer The Sea, saw particular value in the business. String Zone Limited has been sold to wholesale The advent of lockdown brought some particular distributor Strings and Things. challenges to progressing the sale, but Watersheds

Andrew and Gillian Riley founded The String Zone partner Dan Wright, said that by using some Limited in 2004 to supply strings and accessories for creative solutions the deal went through almost as violins, violas, cellos and double basses to augment normal. “The pandemic meant the buyer couldn’t their traditional violin shop. But as the nature of inspect premises to see how stock was stored, and retail changed, they took the online part of their how much space it took up, for example,” said Dan. business away from the physical confi nes of their “So we organised a virtual video tour for the Egham-based shop, which was known as Andrew buyer, which put their mind at rest.”

›Gillian and Andrew Riley of The String Zone, foreground, with Dan Wright of Watersheds