Furlough help

sole2sole

Hi. Can somene help me. I started to run my own ladies clothes Boutique shop at the end of October. I resigned a full time job to do this of my accord. My company is a limited company and when I have to close my shop from this Thursday , I am not eligible for any financial grants as it is a new business. Is there any help out there. Can my ex employer legally re-hire me and furlough me even if I haven't been furloghed before.?. It seems very unfair that I am forced to close my shop but there is no help available. Any information will be greatfully received. Many Thanks

gary83

double posted: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6210043/furlough-rules#latest unfortunately I don’t think you’re going to get any more positive answers than the ones you’ve already got, short of asking them nicely if they’re feeling charitable there’s nothing else you can do.

whilst it might seem unfair to you & you might have been planning it for a long time the last month might not have been the perfect time to open a ladies boutique (even speaking with the benefit of hindsight, retail has struggled this year and another lockdown, either locally or nationally  was highly likely) It boils down to you were aware of Covid 19 when you opened a business in the last few weeks, this was a risk that has unfortunately caught you out, the government can’t be expected to give grants & support to a business only a few weeks old, the scope for fraud there would be ginormous 

Jeremy535897

We don't have full details as yet, but it may be possible for your previous employer to rehire and furlough you. The problem is that there is a cost (pension and employer's NI, plus holiday pay) which cannot be made up by the employee, and the uncertainty, which will put almost all of them off.

You might be eligible for a grant, but we don't have the details (for example how long you have to have been in the business). See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/furlough-scheme-extended-and-further-economic-support-announced

"Business Grants

Businesses required to close in England due to local or national restrictions will be eligible for the following:

• For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants to be £1,334 per month, or £667 per two weeks;
• For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants to be £2,000 per month, or £1,000 per two weeks;
• For properties with a rateable value of £51k or over grants to be £3,000 per month, or £1,500 per two weeks."

sole2sole

Im afraid i have only been in businees 11 days!

strawb_shortcake

Out of curiosity and I've never owned a business so clueless, but I always assumed as new businesses can take some time before they start to break even nevermind generate profit that business owners would have maybe 3 months outgoings set aside. Did you have funds set aside to cover your costs for an initial period? 
I noticed back at the first lockdown that there were lots of people in a similar position to yourself that wanted to claim grants, loans etc.  but it was never obvious as far as I recall that they had this funding to support them establish a business.

ChloeManoey

Why on earrrrrrth would you resign from a full time job to start a business in the middle of a pandemic. I wish you the best of luck figuring this out, hopefully your former employer is feeling generous...