Businesses which have been ordered to close for four weeks due to the national COVID-19 restrictions may be eligible for a government grant of up to £3,000.
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council will be able to provide these grants across the borough. Businesses that are eligible include those that have been required to close during the 4-week lockdown from 5 November 2020 to 2 December 2020 and which are in the non-essential retail, leisure, personal care, sports facilities and hospitality sectors. The amount of grant available is as follows:
For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants to be £1,334 per month, or £667 per two weeks
For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants to be £2,000 per month, or £1,000 per two weeks
For properties with a rateable value of £51k or over grants to be £3,000 per month, or £1,500 per two weeks
Businesses must be closed for the entirety of the 28-day payment cycle to be eligible and must complete a simple form on the council’s website in order to apply. The Government have advised that an application must be completed to adhere to the state aid regulations, and to provide confirmation of bank details.
We will ensure payments reach our businesses within a few days and would ask businesses to avoid contacting us unless they have not received their grant after a day 10-day period.
Applicants can receive an update by emailing businessrates@southend.gov.uk and putting “Call back” with their service request number in the email subject field.
Further information and a link to the application form, please visit www.southend.gov.uk/businesscorona
Requirement to Self-Isolate
Businesses are reminded that if people have been in close contact with a positive case or have been advised to self-isolate, they MUST still complete the statutory 14 day isolation period. Taking a test, regardless of the outcome, does not negate this requirement. A negative test result does not mean they are free from the risk of subsequently becoming infectious and passing on the virus, therefore they are still required, by law, to isolate for the required period of time.
Risk Assessments
All businesses are reminded of the legal requirement to have a COVID-19 risk assessment and share this with staff. Our ad-hoc inspections have indicated that there are still businesses that have not completed a risk assessment, recorded it and shared it with their staff. For more information about the requirements please click here.
If your business is one that has been required to close, now is a good time to check through your procedures to ensure they are COVID-19 compliant, ready for when your business can re-open.
Business closures
We have received a large number of calls and emails relating to the guidance on closures and would ask all businesses to review the COVID-19 guidance that was issued by Government by clicking here.
Reporting of positive COVID cases within your workforce
If you have a confirmed COVID-19 case within your business, please refer to the Guidance and Action Card for your sector and contact the Health Protection Team on 0300 303 8537, option 1 or email EastofEnglandHPT@phe.gov.uk
