The UK government’s next steps to help the hospitality industry.
Government decided to go further to support the hospitality industry and announced on Wednesday its decision to cut hospitality VAT to 5% and introduced a new voucher system to encourage people to eat out again.
Hospitality VAT cut to 5%
This is major for the hospitality industry. After months of pressure and petitions from hospitality trade bodies like UKHospitality to support the sector even further, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, announced a drastic VAT cut for hospitality businesses to 5%.
A 6 months plan to boost the recovery - this plan which will be carried out for 6 months from July 15th until January 12th 2021 will allow restaurants and hospitality businesses to recover quicker. This new measure responds to a real need and pressure from hospitality trade bodies to support businesses financially even more.
Restaurants, bars and pubs were allowed last Saturday (July 4th) to reopen but, only whilst following strict rules in order to respect social distancing.
“Eat out to Help out” scheme to encourage customers to go back to restaurants.
Even if food businesses were allowed to reopen on July 4th, gaining the public's confidence back is still arduous, and some are hesitant to leave their house to mix with the crowd. Therefore, Chancellor Sunak introduced the “Eat out to Help out” scheme. During August, people will get a 50% discount when they dine in from Monday to Wednesday with up to a value of £10 per person.
“This scheme has been designed to drive confidence and incentivise people to return to the hospitality industry, giving this sector a much-needed boost”
How will it work for you? To be a participating business, you only have to register and claim the discount back 7 days after your registration. HMRC will pay eligible claims within 5 working days. You will be able to submit claims on a weekly basis.
Bonus for businesses who reintegrate their staff
Another measure introduced by the government on Wednesday will encourage businesses to reintegrate some members of their teams.
✅ The government will give employers £1,000 for every furloughed employee who remains employed until the end of January 2021.
✅ Employees must earn above the Lower Earnings Limit which is £520 per month on average between the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the end of January 2021.
✅ Businesses will receive payments from February 2021
All details and further information can be found on the A Plan For Jobs 2020 page
