Businesses and self-employed persons that have been negatively impacted by the recent rise in Covid-19 cases in the island can apply for financial support from the government.

The additional support is available for customer-facing businesses who are unable to work from home, including those operating in the catering, entertainment, hospitality, leisure, lifestyle and retail sectors plus a number of service sectors.

Financial assistance will be provided in the form of a grant, which has been designed to support businesses and self-employed individuals whose business has been impacted by the self-isolation requirements for business owners and staff, or a drop in customer demand, which has led to more than a 25% reduction in turnover.

Applicants can claim either the equivalent to the value of one year’s rates payment for each of their commercial premises, or a payment of £1,000.

Eligible applicants who do not operate from commercial premises, or do not contribute to the cost of rates for the commercial premises, can apply to receive a single grant payment of £1,000.

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The extended support, approved by the Economic Recovery Group, will be facilitated through the existing Business Premises Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Business Support Scheme.

Grant support under either route is subject to evidence of a decreased turnover of 25% or more in July against July 2019 or July 2020 and can be used toward any business overheads and staffing costs, to alleviate cash flow issues.

Applications will close on Friday, September 17 at 5.30pm.

The full guidance, including eligibility criteria and a link to apply can be found at: https://www.iomdfenterprise.im/coronavirus/extended-support

Potential applicants who are unsure of their eligibility can contact the Department for Enterprise by emailing [email protected] or by telephoning 687333.

The availability of this support follows the announcement of a temporary increase to the rate of incapacity benefit for the first 14 days of absence from work, in order to improve support for persons unable to work due to isolation.