Martin's 8 NEW coronavirus need-to-knows
Free £5,000 Green Homes Grants begin & Chancellor launches major new help measures
Furlough replaced | New self-employment grants |  Bounce back loans & tax repayments extended | Working from home tax back |  What it all means for the EXCLUDED
 

Last week the Chancellor's Budget was biffed for his 'Winter Economy Plan' - basically a watered-down, less generous extension of prior coronavirus help schemes. In other words, instead of the planned complete shut-off of the financial help tap, Rishi Sunak just stemmed the flow.

As always, all the latest info goes in our constantly updated, detailed, in-depth Covid help guides on... Travel | Employees | Self-employed & ltd companies | Finance & bills | Benefits | Lockdown life. Yet let me run you through the new big need-to-knows...

1) 'Free £5,000' green home renovation vouchers launch today (Wed) in England for insulation, double glazing and more. Not part of the Chancellor's latest announcement, but as so many of you have asked for an update on the scheme the Govt announced in July, I wanted to give you a heads-up. The Govt will reveal full details incl how to apply this morning, Wed 30 Sep.

The MSE team will be fast at updating our Green Homes Grant guide as soon as we hear. Though as some will get this email late Tuesday evening, if you click the link then, it's still full of what we know so far. Of course, as always with these schemes, what will count is the interaction between what the Govt gives and whether installers try to charge a premium for those accessing the scheme.

2) On 1 Nov, furlough (the Job Retention Scheme) will be replaced by a new Job Support Scheme. The new version lasts 6mths and it'll allow companies to put employees who were on the PAYE payroll on 23 Sep 2020 on it, if the employer chooses to. All firms can qualify, even if they didn't use furlough, though large firms must prove they've been financially hit by coronavirus.

Full help including for those on zero-hours contracts, and pension/national insurance rights, in our Job Support Scheme help, incl my video explanation. In short...

Employees must work a minimum of 1/3 of normal hours, paid by the employer at their normal rate. For their 'normal hours' they're not working, the best way I can explain how it works is to think of it as the cost being split three ways.

a) Employer contributes 1/3 towards wages.
b) State contributes 1/3 towards wages - capped at £700/mth.
c) Employee contributes 1/3 as unpaid wages. 

Therefore someone working the min 1/3 of hours would receive 77% of their normal pay (unless you earn enough so you hit the Govt's contribution cap). Though the scheme likely works best for employers whose staff are closer to full hours, eg, 80% (when the employee would receive 93% of salary), as otherwise, sadly mercenary logic says unless jobs are needed long-term, they're better to cull two staff members and keep one full-time.

3) New 3rd and 4th Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants. The 1st grant closed in Aug, and the 2nd grant is open for another 3wks, so if you're eligible and your work's been affected by Covid (even if only partially), URGENTLY click our link for full help and to see how to apply. For the future though, two more grants have been announced.

The 3rd applies to those financially hit by Covid between 1 Nov 2020 and 31 Jan 2021, with eligibility criteria identical to the earlier grants (so if you weren't eligible then, sadly you won't be for this). But it has a far lower payout, a one-off 20% (before it was 70%+) of profits for 3mths, capped at £1,875 in total.

The 4th grant is for 1 Feb 2021 to 30 Apr 2021, but no details of the amount or eligibility terms yet. Full info in new self-employment grants.

4) Bounce back loans can now be repaid over 10yrs. As explained in our updated Bounce Back Loans guide, these allow small biz owners to borrow £2,000 to £50,000, which is interest and repayment-free for the first year.

We don't normally cover small business loans but because these can (in some cases) be used to replace lost personal income, we've been including them in our help guides.

The Chancellor's announcement included three changes to these loans, which are available at a range of mainstream banks - full details on all of them are in the guide linked above, but again in short...

- Applications have now been extended to 30 Nov.
- New & existing borrowers can now repay over 10yrs (was 6yrs), spreading the cost to reduce repayments (but upping the total repayment).
- A range of payment holidays after the first year are now allowed.

5) Self-assessment taxpayers can spread costs over 2021. The first coronavirus tax help announced was permission to defer the 'on account' self-assessment tax payment due in July 2020 to Jan 2021. Now tax payments up to £30,000 due in Jan next year (including those July deferrals) can be paid over 12mths during 2021 via HM Revenue & Customs' Time to Pay tool (once you've submitted 2019/20 tax returns), though you will pay 2.6% interest. Similar is true on VAT repayments. Full info in tax deferrals.

6) Redundancy help, if you think it's possible. The new Job Support Scheme will likely forestall some redundancies in November once furlough ends, but as it's far less generous than furlough, many firms will still be letting people go. If you think - or know - that may happen to you, do tool up on your rights in our Redundancy Help guide. 

7) What does all this mean for the excluded? From early on in the pandemic I've been involved in calling for more help for the possibly millions excluded from the main support schemes, even persuading the Govt to make a few small tweaks. In the main, though, little has been done, and I doubt there will now be any retrospective restitution - as some campaigners call for. But this new announcement does change things slightly...

- The new Job Support Scheme is a fresh start from furlough, and many who were excluded from furlough will be eligible to take part. However, as it is at an employer's discretion, and they can opt not to.

- For the self-employed, the 3rd grant's eligibility criteria are unchanged (which many excluded people tell me feels like a slap in the face). My suspicion is this is because it was hastily resurrected after recently tightened societal restrictions meant more economic sloth.

Yet for the 4th grant, the Chancellor says "eligibility and value may be adjusted". I read this as giving himself wiggle room, to hopefully widen the grant's reach in future - cold comfort for many excluded and still struggling now, but at least it holds out a small candle of hope.

8) It's 'work from home if you can' but at least there's a tax break. The guidance is now firmly "work from home if you can". So just a reminder, if you are required to work from home, there's a tax break to claim, and you can do it retrospectively - see my Claim a work-from-home £6/wk tax allowance blog.

PS: The free NHS Covid-19 app is now available in England & Wales. For how to download, what it does & details of the Scot & NI apps, which have been out there a while, see Covid-tracking apps.

This week, my big briefing is on, er, well, probably the new free £5,000 green homes vouchers, assuming what we learn is interesting. Yet the proof we're live is I won't make that call until the day, so the show's right on the money (so to speak). So rest assured, watch and you'll be fully briefed on everything you need to maximise the pound in your pocket.

And as we're live, you can tweet suggested questions to @MartinSLewis but you must use the show's hashtag #MartinLewis. Do tune in or set the VHS recorder.