Tag Archive for: Business Support

Love Wimbledon Wins Funding to Deliver Business Resilience Masterclass

New Masterclass Series to Launch this Autumn 

Love Wimbledon has been awarded funding from Central Government, administered by Merton Council, to deliver a series of masterclasses in partnership with Merton Chamber of Commerce. These masterclasses will bring together engaging guest speakers who, as well as being experts in their fields, will offer you local perspectives and facilitate new business connections.

The aim is to provide practical and immediate interventions on various issues affecting businesses across Merton.

We have several themes in mind but would like your help with shaping the final content. So we would be grateful if you could share your thoughts by completing this short questionnaire before 5 September.

Your feedback will help us refine the final selection of topics and we will publish the full list in September along with details on how to reserve tickets.

If you would like to sponsor any of our masterclasses, please contact info@lovewimbledon.org.

Free Business Sustainability Support via The Mayor Of London

Supported by the Mayor of London, the new Better Futures+ programme provides qualifying London SMEs with a business support package worth £1000’s to help them plan to get to Net Zero.

Take advantage of business acumen, peer advice and information to help your business grow, cut costs and save the planet. Build resilience, innovation and success into your business and help create a better future. Places are limited and will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis.

Support includes:

  • An eight-part webinar series designed to help you navigate your way to Zero Carbon or Net Zero.
  • Free dynamic carbon footprint measuring tool to track your carbon and cost reductions, with adaptable downloadable graphs to use however you like.
  • Collaborative workshops with specialist consultants and like-minded peers.
  • Peer learning groups happening bi-weekly
  • Half a day with a specialist consultant to review your net zero transition plans (only eligible for some businesses)

This support is only available to London-based businesses with at least two full time employees and a turnover between £100K – £43 million.

Pre-registration closes on 10th December. Click here to sign up.

Supreme Court Rules in Favour of SME Insurance Payouts

Following the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) appeal to the business interruption test case, the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of SMEs receiving insurance payouts as a result of closures and financial loss due to Coronavirus. This means that Wimbledon businesses who had claims denied earlier in the pandemic may now be eligible for compensation from their insurers.

 

Sheldon Mills, Executive Director, Consumers and Competition at the FCA, commented:

Coronavirus is causing substantial loss and distress to businesses and many are under immense financial strain to stay afloat. This test case involved complex legal issues. Our aim throughout this test case has been to get clarity for as wide a range of parties as possible, as quickly as possible, and today’s judgment decisively removes many of the roadblocks to claims by policyholders.

We will be working with insurers to ensure that they now move quickly to pay claims that the judgment says should be paid, making interim payments wherever possible. Insurers should also communicate directly and quickly with policyholders who have made claims affected by the judgment to explain next steps.

As we have recognised from the start of this case, tens of thousands of small firms and potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs are relying on this. We are grateful to the Supreme Court for delivering the judgment quickly. The speed with which it was reached reflects well on all parties.

 

Each policy will need to be considered individually against the detailed judgment to work out what it means for that policy. Businesses can expect to hear from their insurers and should get in touch with their broker, advisor or insurer with questions. Businesses unhappy following their insurer’s assessment of their claim may be able to refer their claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service, whose role is to fairly and impartially resolve disputes.

More information about the Supreme Court judgement and the test case can be found here.

 

 

 

 

Kickstart Scheme and Peer Networks

Kickstart Scheme

Employers can now receive full funding to support job placements for young people, within your business. The new Government Kickstart scheme aims to support new jobs for young people on Universal Credit, who are at risk of long term unemployment. Placements will be 6 months long and will be fully-funded for 25 hours a week.

If you have less than 30 job placements available then contact Merton Chamber (info@mertonchamber.co.uk or apply online), who act as a Gateway organisation to group employer requests together and submit your application.

Peer Networks

A national peer-to-peer networking programme for SME leaders that want to grow and develop their organisation for future success. Delivered locally by Merton Chamber of Commerce in association with Business Clan, the programme creates diverse cohort groups of individuals to collaboratively work through common business issues.

Eligibility: A London based business who employs five or more, and has a turnover of over £100,000 and has been trading for more than one year.

Interested in being part of a dynamic peer network? Contact diana@mertonchamber.co.uk for more information.

Peer Networks is a national programme delivered locally by Merton Chamber and Business Clan on behalf of the London Business Hub.

Prepare Your Business for the NHS Covid-19 App

 

New measures in place for the Hospitality, Leisure and Close Contact sectors:

  • Businesses will need to display the official NHS QR code poster for customers to ‘check-in’ in support of Test and Trace (more details below).
  • Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés must operate table-service only.
  • Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés, including takeaway, are required to close from 10 pm to 5 am (delivery can continue after 10 pm).
  • Customers in indoor hospitality venues must wear face coverings, except when seated at a table to eat or drink. Staff in hospitality and retail will now also be required to wear face coverings.
  • From 28th September businesses will face stricter rules to make their premises COVID Secure. Details about sector-specific guidance, including a Covid Secure Certificate to display, can be found here.

 

Collecting Customer Data

From Thursday September 24th, the NHS Test and Trace app will be able to be downloaded on mobile phones across UK. All hospitality, close contact and leisure businesses are being advised to use this system to assist with the track and trace of your customers.

By displaying the official NHS QR poster, the NHS COVID-19 app has a feature which allows users to ‘check-in’ to your venue by scanning the code. This is a secure way for individuals to ‘check-in’ as the details stay on the person’s phone. In England, people who ‘check-in’ do not then have to provide their contact details as part of the staff, customer and visitor logs. All customers must either check-in with the NHS App or give you their details, this does not change this requirement but should make it easier for your business to manage this process.

Official NHS QR posters can be generated online.

Organisations can find out more about NHS QR codes and how to generate them on the NHS COVID-19 app website.

 

The data that you are being asked to collect is personal data and must be handled in accordance with GDPR to protect the privacy of your staff, customers and visitors.

GDPR allows you to request contact information from your staff, customers and visitors and share it with NHS Test and Trace to help minimise the transmission of COVID-19 and support public health and safety. It is not necessary to seek consent from each person, but you should make clear why the information is being collected and what you intend to do with it.

You do not have to inform every customer individually. You might, for example, display a notice at your premises or on your website setting out what the data will be used for and the circumstances in which it might be accessed by NHS Test and Trace.

Full details are available here.

 

Managing the Local Situation

Some areas of the country are having to deal with local lockdowns and managing local outbreaks. We are monitoring the local situation using the government website that is updated daily.

We are also in regular communication with Merton Council’s Public Health Department. You will see currently Merton has one of the smallest incidences of Covid 19, however we must remain vigilant to provide the safest environment for our customers, so please do continue to maintain high standards of Covid awareness within your business.

 

In preparation for what to do if there is an outbreak, please read through the early outbreak management action cards here.

  1. Identify the source of the possible or confirmed case(s)
  2. Report it to Public Health England Health Protection Team (PHE HPT)
  3. Respond according to the advice received by PHE HPT

Preparing For Brexit

It is important for businesses to start taking action to prepare for new rules that will come into effect from 1 January 2021, even if you do not trade with or do business in the EU.

The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry has launched an EU Exit Hub to support London businesses with preparing for these changes that might affect them when the transition period ends. The Hub contains information and links to official guidance on a range of matters including:

  • Staff employment
  • Business travel
  • Exporting and importing
  • International trade: paperwork, costs, logistics
  • Data protection
  • E-commerce
  • Accounting and auditing
  • Public procurement
  • Intellectual property
  • Taxation

Find out more here.

Mayor of London Launches
Back To Business Fund

Back to Business Fund Pay It Forward

 

The Mayor of London has launched a £1m Back to Business Fund, match funding up to £5,000 for small and independent businesses through the Pay It Forward London crowdfunding platform. The funding is intended to help businesses expand their operation online, invest in the future and adapt to safe, socially distant practices in sectors that rely on physical trading, including retail, hospitality, leisure, tourism, travel, creative and arts, entertainment and recreation, and health and fitness.

To be eligible, your business will need a crowdfunding project on Pay It Forward London and reach 25% of your campaign target. Once 100% of your target is reached, the funding is released, up to £5,000 – or 50% of your campaign target.

For more details about eligibility, to set-up a project and to apply click here.

Prepare Your Business for Local Lockdowns

 

As we start to recover from the national lockdown, the last thing any business needs to be considering is a local lockdown.

Love Wimbledon is in regular contact with the Director of Public Health and the Merton Council Business Support team and we are monitoring the local statistics carefully. Currently, the risk in the local area is very low. Should any indication of a local lockdown in Wimbledon emerge, we will maintain our communication and support to our BID businesses by keeping you up-to-date with any information.

In the meantime, the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) has recently released a factsheet to help businesses prepare for and navigate local lockdowns.

This covers issues such as:

  • Adding local lockdowns into your business continuity risks
  • Ensuring that you understand any restrictions or measures implemented
  • Sending out clear, reassuring communications to staff
  • How long local lockdowns can last
  • The best way for business to engage with government over local lockdowns
  • How businesses should respond to outbreaks in their workforce

We urge all our businesses to check out the factsheet here, which also includes government guidance on local lockdowns.

Love Wimbledon BID is here as usual to support your business through these times.

 

Government Announce ‘Recovery Advice for Business’ Scheme

 

The government have just announced their new ‘Recovery Advice for Business’ scheme, through which small businesses will receive free, one-to-one advice from expert advisers on how they can bounce back from coronavirus (COVID-19) and to prepare for long-term recovery.

 

The scheme is hosted on the Enterprise Nation website, and backed by thousands of expert professional and business services advisers who are on hand and ready to do their bit in offering bespoke, specialist assistance in the following areas: accountancy, legal, advertising, marketing, recruitment and digital.

Each adviser has offered at least one hour of free advice a month until the end of 2020 which could deliver a lifeline to thousands of SMEs looking for support.

These experts come from some of the UK’s major professional and trade bodies who have signed up to support the scheme, including: The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), the Institute of Chartered Accountants England & Wales (ICAEW), the Advertising Association, the Law Society and the Management Consultancies Association (MCA).

How Does It Work?

Businesses who wish to access the support, must do so via Enterprise Nation platform. They will then be asked questions on the ‘Make a Plan’ diagnostic tool. This will allow Enterprise Nation to assess and identify both the level and specific areas of support needed.

They will subsequently be directed to a personalised dashboard where they will receive a detailed action plan which will include links to suggested tailored advice and relevant professional advisers willing to help.

Advice will focus on key areas:

  • accounting and finance
  • people and building a team
  • planning, strategy and pivoting
  • marketing, PR and social media
  • Technology and digital tools

Over 12,000 advisers in the existing Enterprise Nation community are available to provide advice through the platform, with more new professional advisers being signed up specifically to support the scheme.

Enterprise Nation is providing free access to the platform, until 31st December 2020

Want To Support The Scheme As A Business Expert?

Advisers will need to belong to a professional or trade body and hold valid Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) to join the platform and offer advice. They will then need their Trade Body Coupon Code, demonstrating their membership of a professional body, and the link to the Enterprise Nation adviser sign-up page. This will enable advisers to sign up as part of the programme, for free membership, for the duration of the programme until the end of December 2020. It will also ensure that all advice is provided by appropriate expert advisers.

 

Click here to access this support.

Merton Discretionary Grant Fund Scheme Opens for Applications

 

Small and micro businesses with ongoing fixed property costs may be eligible for a grant from the Discretionary Grants Scheme if they were not eligible for the Small Business Grant Fund or the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund.

This fund is significantly smaller than the previous coronavirus related grants and will only be available to support a small number of businesses in Merton.

Merton Council will administer the scheme in two phases and the deadline for phase 1 applications is 5pm on 24 June 2020.

 

For more information about eligibility and to apply, CLICK HERE 

We are hosting a webinar, 16th June 10-11am,  to assist businesses with understanding the qualifying criteria, in partnership with Merton Chamber of Commerce and Merton Council. Register for the webinar here.