Coronavirus is spreading in the UK, and the number of confirmed cases has risen from only a few to nearly 6,000. It pushed goverment to take measures to control such as close schools, pubs, restaurants, send employers work from home etc. But how does the economy work when employees return home to work? Who pays? Faced with this difficult problem, the British government took the initiative and they made an unprecedented decision:

Send money!

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak on announced on March 17 that the British government will provide 330 billion pounds of loans to businesses. For industries affected by the epidemic, such as retail, catering, and entertainment, the British government will exempt businesses from 12-month business tax and provide £ 25,000 in cash support for each business. For the 700,000 smallest businesses in the UK, the British government will provide cash support of 10,000 pounds each. Individuals struggling with the epidemic can delay repayment of loans. National companies can temporarily avoid paying 30 billion pounds of VAT. To protect employment, the government will pay 80% of salaries for employees who cannot work due to the virus outbreak, up to a maximum of 2,500 pounds per month. Sunak said the decision was to stop employers from cutting staff because of the outbreak.

“I know that people are worried about losing their jobs, about not being able to pay the rent or mortgage, about not having enough set by for food and bills… to all those at home right now, anxious about the days ahead, I say this: you will not face this alone,” Mr Sunak added

1. For employees

1) Job retention plan
Employers with financial support can continue to retain jobs and continue to pay part of their salaries for those employees who should have been fired in the crisis.

2) Wage subsidy plan
The government will pay employees up to 80% of the salary subsidy, with a maximum monthly limit of 2,500 pounds. This plan will be implemented from March 1st and last for 3 months. Will be extended if necessary

Sunak said the government is doing its best to support employers and hopes that employers will also do their best to support workers.

2. For businesses

1) Deferred payment of VAT and income tax
The government has delayed the payment of VAT by 3 months, and the extension will be from March 20, 2020 to June 30, 2020

2) Catering retail
For industries affected by the epidemic, such as retail, catering, and entertainment, the British government will exempt businesses from 12-month business tax. A grant of £ 25,000 is also offered.

3)  For Small and middle companies
The British government will provide a subsidy of £ 10,000 for small businesses with a tax value of less than £ 15,000, and a subsidy of £ 25,000 for businesses with a taxable value between £ 15,000 and £ 51,000. At the same time loans of up to 5 million pounds were provided to SMEs.

4) For large companies
The government will issue new lending instruments to help support liquidity between large companies and help them achieve cash flow through loans.

3. Self-employed persons

For self-employed people, self-assessment is based on past personal income and tax payable. If income is less than £ 118 per week, you can apply for general credit or new employment and support allowances. The payment of personal income tax was also extended from July 2020 to January 2021.

4. Housing subsidies

Starting in April, the government increased the local housing subsidy rate to 30% of the market rent. This applies to all new or existing “universal credit” housing element claimants as well as existing housing benefit claimants.

The British move is undoubtedly unprecedented, so many people have commented that Britain temporarily entered “wartime” communism. The Financial Times estimates that as many as 3 million people work in areas severely affected by the epidemic. If 1 million people apply for support each month in these 3 months, the plan will cost 3.5 billion pounds. However, in the face of a brief but terrible shock of this magnitude resulting in a complete stoppage of the economy, this move should save tens of thousands or even more people in employment.
Not only that, the UK will also provide free treatment for new coronary pneumonia, including any foreigners who reside illegally in the UK. Foreigners in the UK include immigrants, students, overseas employees, tourists, refugees and asylum seekers.

It seems that the British government has taken many positive measures, and we will continue to pay attention to the latest news. Take care and stay safe!

新冠疫情在英国大肆蔓延，确诊人数也从几周前的2位数升至即将冲破6千。英国也从一开始的“无为而治”，“群体免疫”，“海德公园”说，到今日的“禁学校”，“禁酒吧”，“让员工在家工作”等等一系列措施。但是，员工回家工作后经济如何运转？谁来发放工资？面对这一棘手问题，英国政府出手了，他们做出了一个史无前例的决定：

发钱！

英国财政大臣里苏纳克于3月17日宣布，英国政府将为企业提供3300亿英镑贷款。对于零售、餐饮、娱乐等受疫情影响严重的行业，英国政府将免除企业12个月营业税，并为每家企业提供25,000英镑现金支持。对于英国70万家规模最小的企业，英国政府将为每家企业提供10,000英镑现金支持。受疫情影响而陷入困境的个人可推迟偿还贷款。全国企业可以暂时不用支付300亿英镑的增值税。为了保护就业，政府将为因病毒疫情无法工作的雇员支付八成的工资，每月最多可达2500英镑。苏纳克说，这一决定是为了阻止雇主因为疫情裁减员工。

苏纳克：我知道，人们担心失去工作，担心无法缴付房租或房贷，更担心无法应付日常需求的费用。现在我要告诉那些在家里倍感焦虑的人：你们不会独自面对一切

具体来看看英国政府针对员工和企业都颁布了哪些补助措施。

一. 对于员工

1. 职位保留计划

获得财政支持的雇主可以继续为那些本应在此次危机中解雇的员工保留职位并继续支付部分工资。给饭碗保留计划点赞