The government promises more financial support for hair and beauty businesses, says NHBF
The latest government advice is for people to stay away from others and avoid social interaction. This will have a massive and disproportionate impact on service industries like hair and beauty, which rely on face-to-face interaction with clients.
In last week’s Budget the government announced:
- Businesses with less than 250 staff will be refunded for sick pay payments for up to two weeks per employee and Statutory Sick Pay will start from day one (instead of day four).
- Full business rates relief for businesses with a rateable value of £51,000 or less. For those who already benefit from small business rates relief and therefore pay no business rates, there was a promise of a £3,000 cash grant.
Under pressure from businesses and trade bodies, the government has today extended the financial support available to salons:
- No business rates for salons of any size, not just those with a rateable value below £51,000.
- A Bill is going through Parliament today (Wed 18th March) to ensure Statuary Sick Pay (SSP) is paid from day one rather than day four, backdated to take effect from 13th March 2020.
- Businesses with a rateable value of less than £51,000 can access an additional cash grant of up to £25,000.
- Businesses which don’t pay business rates because they benefit from small business rates relief will see the £3,000 cash grant announced in last week’s Budget extended to £10,000.
- Three-month mortgage holidays for those in financial difficulty due to coronavirus.
- Business loans on ‘attractive terms’, including a business interruption loan scheme which will provide loans of up to £5m, interest-free for 6 months, starting as soon as next week.
Ian Egerton, NHBF president, said, “The government has promised some welcome relief for businesses which will struggle to survive under the latest measures to control the spread of coronavirus. But speed is of the essence – this additional support needs to be made available right now when hair and beauty salons need the support most. If clients stop coming into salons, hair and beauty businesses can’t continue paying employees or paying their bills.”
Hilary Hall, NHBF chief executive added, “Wages are by far the biggest cost for salons. Our phones have been ringing off the hook with calls from worried salon owners asking for advice on laying off staff or making redundancies. If the current crisis continues for any length of time, we will need more government support including rent holidays, suspension of tax payments such as PAYE, VAT or corporation tax and delaying planned increases to the National Living Wage / National Minimum Wage. Without that support, we will see salons going out of business and many people will be out of work with no means of supporting themselves for a prolonged period of time.”
For more information visit https://www.nhbf.co.uk
