Information for businesses, employees and the self-employed
Information about all government support packages for businesses, employees and the self-employed is available on the government website, including:
- Funding and support – all of the government funding schemes, business support find tool, sources of information and support from the government and other organisations.
- Self-employed people and sole traders – funding schemes and other financial advice and support, how to work in people’s homes safely (tradespeople), rules that have been temporarily relaxed.
- Your responsibilities as an employer - keeping your employees safe, claim wages through the job retention scheme, employer guide to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), how to claim back SSP, advice on how to manage staff affected by COVID-19.
- Managing your business during coronavirus – health and safety, sector specific guidance, rules that have been temporarily relaxed.
- Business closures - businesses that must close, safe working guidance, claim wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
- How you can help - offer the help of your business
Jump to information:
- Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund Update
- COVID-19 business grants
- Business rates relief
- Bounce Back loans for SMEs
- Information for Council business tenants
- Furlough scheme extended
- Sector specific government information, advice and guidance
- When can my business start trading again?
- Information for young people
- Support for landlords
- Guidance for employees
- Grants and funding for community organisations
- Your local enterprise partnership (LEP)
- Speak to a business advisor
- Businesses supporting businesses
- How to carry out a COVID-19 Risk assessment
- Working safely during corona virus (COVID–19)
- Frequently asked questions
Local Authorities in England will receive an amount equivalent to 5% of the value of grants distributed through the earlier Small Business Grants and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure grant funds. For Rutland this equates to £575,000.
The Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund provides financial support to qualifying businesses; aiming to support micro and small businesses (those employing up to 50 people) that have been impacted by COVID-19.
This grant is considerably less than that awarded to Local Authorities to pay to businesses eligible for the Small Business Grants and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant fund - as such we have to make some difficult decisions about which businesses will receive the Local Authority Discretionary Grants, and how much.
The Government’s guidance requires us to support specific small and micro businesses including B&Bs, market stall holders and those occupying shared space where they do not pay rates. Beyond that the Government’s guidance allows Local Authorities to apply their discretion; focusing on those businesses that are important to the local economy.
We want to provide some financial support to those local small and micro businesses to protect jobs and who have seen trade significantly impacted by COVID-19. These two criteria, together with meeting the Government’s definition of a small or micro business, will be the initial basis of the grant allocation process.
In order to understand the level of demand, and with finite funds, we will be asking businesses to complete a simple on-line pre-qualification form. The form will ask a range of questions including information on the number of people you employed on the 11th March 2020 and how your business has been impacted.
This form will go live week commencing the 8th June and will be available for 2 weeks from the ‘go live’ date for you to complete.
Once we have this data we will then determine how to award the funds.
Depending on the number of applications we estimate this will take up to 15 working days, therefore successful applicants can expect to receive their grants in early July.
We have the funds from government to pay grants to eligible businesses.
To make a payment, we need to collect some information from you through the form, linked below.
Important Information:
Please enter your details exactly as shown on your bill. For example:
Your bill shows the name of Mrs Judy E Garland T/a Garland Movies Ltd
The boxes on the form need to be completed as follows:
Title: Mrs
Forename: Judy E
Surname: Garland T/a Garland Movies Ltd
If you have any problems using this form, email your business rates account number, company name and business address to ltaxation@rutland.gov.uk – we cannot take this information over the phone.
Business grants online form
We will never ask for bank details or personal information over the phone
If you think your business may be entitled to business rates relief, we advise that:
- if you pay direct debit or standing order and believe you will not have to pay rates at all or at that amount, you may want to cancel it through your bank
- if you pay in a different way, you may want to ignore your current bill, and wait for your new bill to be issued
If you are a business tenant, you can defer rent due for the first quarter of this financial year until the end of June.
This is to allow you time to assess the impact on your business and take action to make sure it’s sustainable, without worrying about paying rent in the short term.
At the end of June, we’ll talk to you about how you would like to proceed.
To defer your rent email: debtors@rutland.gov.uk.
Read the announcement on the government website
Government has announced £2,000 and £50,000 ‘bounce back loans’ for SMEs.
The loans have a 100% Government guarantee and are interest free for the first 12 months.
Find out more and apply
Guidance for apprentices, employers, training providers and assessment organisations in response to the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19).
If your business is required to close, we ask you to comply with this - check the government site regularly for changes and updates.
Your business or venue must stay closed to the public until government announces that it is safe to reopen.
Failure to follow the law on closures can lead to the person responsible for the business being issued a prohibition notice, a fixed penalty notice or prosecution.
Read government guidance about support to protect renters – people who rent will not be forced out of their home during the pandemic.
Find information about going to work, statutory sick pay and furloughed workers on the government website.
Find information about grants and funding available to help organisations working to support vulnerable people in Rutland.
LEPs are business led partnerships between local authorities and local private sector businesses. There are 38 across England.
We are linked to Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
LEPs play a central role in:
- deciding local economic priorities
- activities to drive economic growth and job creation
- improving infrastructure
- raising local workforce skills
LEP boards are led by a business chair, with board members who are local leaders of industry (including small or medium sized enterprises), educational institutions and the public sector.
Visit the websites for more information:
W: greaterlincolnshirelep.co.uk
W: www.businesslincolnshire.com/
If you need to talk to someone about the support available for your business and employees, contact Business Lincolnshire Growth Hub.
The Growth Hub is able to provide independent business advice and signposting to the most appropriate support programmes for clients. This will include the ability to access some grant funding, but these grants will not be able to be used for ongoing running costs or any retrospective costs and will require a business to provide some match funding.
T: 01522 782189
W: https://www.businesslincolnshire.com/
The decision on business rates relief, small business grants and retail, leisure and hospitality grants rests solely with the Council - the growth hub has no influence over this decision.
We have a Facebook page, where local businesses can find free support on offer to other local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you’re able to offer any free support to other businesses, tag @rutlandbusiness in a Facebook post with information about the support you're offering, and we will share it.
The Government has updated it's guidance for employers carrying out a risk assessment at work, the information can be found online at
W: https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/risk/index.htm
Guidance to help employers, employees and the self-employed understand how to work safely during the coronavirus pandemic.
W: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19
