Beaverbrooks closes website and warehouse operations

Beaverbrooks has closed its website and warehouse operations until further notice. Anna Blackburn, managing director at Beaverbrooks, said the company made the “difficult decision” to close its website and warehouse operations to “protect” its colleagues, their families and the wider community. She added: “As a family owned business, the safety…

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Fellows auctioneers stage auction from home

Fellows Auctioneers has revealed that its latest auction was operated in full from a family home in Shropshire on 26 March.  The auction, which was “one of their most successful” auctions to date, achieved a hammer total of £210,000. Managing director Stephen Whittaker was auctioneer from his family home, with…

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What we know about furlough leave and the CJRS

HMRC published details of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) on 26.3.20 which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme Key points include: Employees that employers can claim CJRS for For the purposes of CJRS, the definition of employee would include workers and agency workers provided they are subject to PAYE i.e. this…

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Self-employed to get 80% income grant

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced the government will pay self-employed people a taxable grant based on their previous earnings over the last three years, worth up to 80% of earnings, and capped at £2,500 a month. Sunak said it will run for a minimum of three months, with scope for…

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Wetherspoons’ boss was right to withhold wages

The media and the Twitterati have had a field day vilifying the founder and owner of pub chain Wetherspoons over his decision not to pay his staff in light of the coronavirus restrictions. Tim Martin had sent an email to his 43,000 staff saying he could not afford to pay…

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Covid-19: Banks under fire over emergency loan scheme

Banks have come under fire over government-backed emergency loans which require business owners to sign for a personal guarantee, as the UK battles with the Covid-19 pandemic. The British Business Bank (BBB) opened applications for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) on Monday (23 March), and claimed the loan…

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Assay offices close their doors

All four assay offices across the UK have closed their doors amid the coronavirus crisis. The assay offices, in Birmingham, Edinburgh, London and Sheffield, will now be closed for business for “at least” three weeks. In a statement, the British Hallmarking Council said: “The pandemic has caused many disruptions to…

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NAJ postpones 2020 summit

The NAJ has announced that it will be postponing its 2020 Seminar amid the current coronavirus situation.  It is now scheduled to take place in June 2021.  The Summit was due to take place between the 20 June and 22 June at the De Vere Staverton Park Estate in Northamptonshire,…

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Birmingham Assay Office closes operations

The Birmingham Assay Office has announced that it will be “closing all operations” from today (24 March) for the three weeks stipulated by the government.   The office said that the decision came in light of the Prime Minister’s lockdown announcement on Monday evening, and said that the move would “protect…

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Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – Advice for employers

The Job Retention Scheme is a huge incentive for companies to keep employees on payroll. To access the support companies need to classify employees as a furloughed worker, which means they should not undertake any work for the company while furloughed, including answering calls or emails. In exchange employers can claim a grant of…

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