A Government press release published today, confirms that temporary measures brought in to support businesses from insolvency during the pandemic will be phased out from 1 October 2021.
How can a business protect itself from insolvency? Poppleton and Appleby partner, Stephen Wainwright discusses in his latest blog.
Under a new bill “Ratings ( Coronavirus ) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies ) Bill”, the Insolvency Service will have retrospective powers to investigate Directors who have abused the Government support Schemes.
Changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) On Saturday 31 October 2020, a second lockdown for England was announced. To support businesses and individuals through this, the government is providing additional financial support as part of the plan for the next phase of response to the pandemic. It has been confirmed that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) - also known as the furlough scheme - which was due to end on 31 October, will remain open until December. The government has protected over nine million jobs across the UK with the furlough scheme as well as supporting those [...]
Government announces extension of insolvency measures The Government has extended the measures put in place by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act in order to protect businesses from insolvency, giving them a much-needed breathing space during the pandemic. Many changes to the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act were due to expire at the end of September. However, as of 24th September, the measures have been extended to the end of December 2020 and in some cases to March 2021. Summary of temporary measures: Companies with any obligations to hold AGMs will continue to have the flexibility to hold these meetings [...]
How does the Coronavirus Job Support Scheme work? Yesterday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a new scheme to increase the wages of workers who have had to cut their hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Job Support Scheme will help to protect viable jobs in businesses that are likely to face a lower demand as we head into the winter months as opposed to all job roles which were supported as part of the initial furlough scheme. The new scheme will start in November replacing the existing furlough scheme which ends on October 31 2020. How will the new Job [...]
The spectre of the return of HMRC preferential status We have commented in several blogs and to clients directly and can confirm that the enactment of the Finance Bill on 22nd July 2020 paves the way for the reintroduction of preferential status for the vast majority of HMRC liabilities in insolvencies. Background As a potted history lesson, HMRC held preferential status up to the implementation of the Enterprise Act in 2003. This unexpectedly revoked this status in favour of a policy aimed at business enterprise and with the objective to return enhanced distributions to ordinary trade creditors in insolvencies. In [...]
The introduction into law of the CIGA on the 26th June 2020 represents the most significant reforms to the UK insolvency and restructuring framework for nearly two decades.
To ensure we are providing you with as much support and information regarding the Government’s Coronavirus initiatives, here are the latest updates regarding the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for furloughed employees. During the government briefing on Friday 29th May, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the changes to the CJRS, in line with the easing of lockdown restrictions and the extension of the scheme until the end of October. Under the current scheme, the Government will pay back to the employer 80% of each furloughed employee's salary, up to a maximum of £2,500 per employee, plus the National Insurance paid, as [...]
A major reorganisation and enhancement of UK Insolvency legislation was already being considered long before Coronavirus became a familiar term and the consultation process around the shape of new legislation has in fact been launched only recently within the Insolvency, Turnaround and Financing business community. However, as a responsive need at the outset of Lockdown in the UK, the Government announced some surprising temporary measures that were all intended to minimise the commercial impact of the lockdown and support businesses that might otherwise feel compelled to shut up shop permanently when faced with the challenges it presents. The measures were [...]
