Coronavirus advice for businesses in Scotland
Scotland’s enterprise and skills agencies are working in partnership to help you find the support you need if your business has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Find guidance, advice and tools for all sectors across Scotland.
Latest updates
- New guidance has been issued on how to safely manage low level background music and sound in hospitality. The guidance is effective from Saturday 12 December (11 December 2020)
- A £55 million emergency funding package for sport has been announced by the Scottish Government (10 December 2020)
- The Finance Secretary has announced a new £185 million package of targeted coronavirus (COVID-19) support for business (9 December 2020). The future support will include:
- £15 million for the wedding sector and its supply chain, including photographers
- one-off grants totalling £15 million for mobile close contact services, such as hairdressers
- a £19 million fund and one-off grants for taxi drivers
- £5 million for travel agents
- almost £6 million for coach companies and tour operators
- £1.5 million for visitor attractions
- Businesses can expect to be able to apply for all the new grant schemes in January
- All 11 local authorities currently in level 4 will move to level 3 restrictions from Friday 11 December (8 December 2020)
- Shops that have been closed in these areas can open from 6am on Friday
- Other restrictions will remain in place until 6pm
- Inverclyde, Falkirk and Angus will move from level 3 to level 2 on Friday (8 December 2020)
- Dumfries & Galloway and Scottish Borders will move to level 1 (8 December 2020)
- A ban on travel to and from Jersey will take effect at 6pm on Friday 11 December (10 December)
- Business owners affected by the pandemic will be protected from eviction until the end of March 2021 (9 December 2020)
- Apply to the Scottish Wholesale Food and Drink Resilience Fund by 13 December if your wholesale business has been affected by the pandemic (7 December 2020)
- Qualifying day nurseries will continue to benefit from 100% relief on non-domestic rates until at least June 2023 (7 December 2020)
- Have your say on proposals to secure a strong, sustainable future for the manufacturing sector (7 December 2020)
- Read updated advice on what to do if one of your staff has been asked to self-isolate by Test and Protect (2 December 2020)
- Submit claims for furlough days in November 2020 by 14 December 2020 (30 November 2020)
- Apply to the Strategic Framework Business Fund if your business is required to close by law as a result of COVID-19 restrictions (17 November 2020)
- You need to self isolate if arriving from the Canary Isles, Denmark, Estonia and Latvia (10 December 2020)
- Download the Protect Scotland app from NHS Scotland. It is a free, mobile phone app designed to reduce the spread of coronavirus and avoid further lockdowns (10 September 2020)
Your top questions answered
- Find out more about the local restrictions in the local area that you live, work or travel in.
- Measures to protect businesses from insolvency will be extended to give businesses some breathing space during this pandemic (9 December 2020)
- Learn how to create and maintain a safer workplace
- Read more from Business Gateway about running a business during the pandemic
- Guidance on opening of public and customer toilets
- Guidance to help micro (less than 10 employees) and small (less than 50 employees) companies safely re-open (13 July 2020)
- Read advice and guidance from Public Health Scotland on planning a return to work
- Explore this free service for employers looking to fill jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic launched by Skills Development Scotland. This is a free platform to share immediate job opportunities in Scotland.
- Guidance on collection of customer and visitor contact details as part of NHS Scotland's Test and Protect system (14 July 2020)
- The Protect Scotland app from NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect is a free, mobile phone app designed to reduce the spread of coronavirus and avoid further lockdowns (10 September)
- Apply for the 3rd grant of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. You must make your claim on or before 29 January 2021 (30 November 2020)
- The Strategic Framework Business Fund offers grants to businesses that are required to close by law as a result of COVID-19 restrictions from 2 November (10 November 2020)
- Apply for the Hardship Fund for Creative Freelancers which has re-opened to support those in immediate financial hardship in Scotland (10 November 2020)
- The UK Job Retention Scheme (furlough) will pay 80% of wages of workers on leave. This scheme has been extended until the end of March (5 November 2020)
- Support for nightclubs and soft play centres has been announced by the Scottish Government. Local Authorities will contact eligible businesses in their area. (17 November 2020)
- Michelin Development Dundee Fund offers world-class expertise and unsecured loans of up to £50,000 to SMEs operating in any business-to-business sector. Loans can be used for a variety of purposes including capital purchases as long as there is a jobs creation output. Note - this fund is only available to companies operating in Dundee or Angus.
- Childcare providers can apply for funding to meet the extra costs of complying with public health guidance (15 October 2020)
- Small businesses can apply for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS). They have changed eligibility criteria to make it easier for businesses to access funds. It has been extended until 31 January 2021 (2 November 2020)
- Apply for a coronavirus Bounce Back Loan. Small and medium-sized businesses affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) can apply for a loan of up to £50,000 which will be guaranteed by the UK Government (4 May 2020)
- How to pay all or some of your grant back if you’ve overclaimed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (16 September 2020)
- Employers can also claim the Job Retention Bonus, a one-off payment of £1,000 for each employee who they previously claimed for under the furlough scheme, and who remains continuously employed through to 31 January 2021. You cannot claim the Job Retention Bonus until 15 February 2021 (2 October 2020)
- The Renfrewshire Coronavirus Business Support Fund is a £1.3 million Renfrewshire Council package of interest free loans and grants providing immediate help to local businesses affected by the pandemic (17 August 2020)
- Guidance for workers and employers on returning to work safely (31 August 2020)
- Employers need to be aware of the guidance for employees who are shielding so they can return to work safely (24 November 2020)
- Test and Protect - Scottish Government advice for employers (12 October 2020)
- Find redundancy support from Skills Development Scotland. Free support for businesses of any size, no matter how many employees are involved.
- Scottish Mediation offers a Covid-19 mediation service to resolve conflicts with employees. The service is free for organisations with up to 5 employees (9 July)
- Usual sick leave and pay entitlements apply if you or an employee has coronavirus.
Latest Scottish Government and industry guidance for sectors getting back to work safely.
Most popular
- Tourism and hospitality (20 November 2020)
- This guidance now includes statutory guidance for the hospitality sector (pubs, restaurants and cafés)
- Retail (9 November 2020)
- how the retail experience is changing (12 November 2020)
- Sport and leisure facilities (30 October 2020)
- General guidance for safer workplaces (24 November 2020)
- Events sector guidance (9 November 2020)
- Food and drink (30 October 2020)
- Close contact services
- includes hairdressers, tattoo artists, spas etc (9 November 2020)
- Creative industries - creative studios and shared workspaces (31 October 2020)
Other sectors
- Call centres and customer contact centre environments (3 August 2020)
- Caravan sites and holiday parks (22 July 2020)
- Childminder services and settings (30 October 2020)
- Cinemas and drive-in cinemas (30 October 2020)
- Construction (15 July 2020)
- Driving and motorcycle lessons (16 November 2020)
- Farmers, landowners and rural (13 November 2020)
- Film and high-end TV production (30 October 2020)
- Financial services (7 August 2020)
- Forestry (16 June 2020)
- Funeral Directors (30 October 2020)
- Horticulture, fruit and vegetables (2 July 2020)
- Housing including moving home (20 November 2020)
- Laboratories and research facilities (20 November 2020)
- Life sciences
- Manufacturing (30 October 2020)
- Museums, galleries and heritage attractions (2 November 2020)
- Performing arts and venues (10 November 2020)
- Public spaces - urban centres and green spaces, including shopping areas, transport hubs, parks, cemeteries and burial grounds (29 June 2020)
- Places of worship (30 October 2020)
- Private landlords and lettings agents (20 November 2020)
- Professional sport - football and rugby (3 September 2020)
- Public libraries (18 November 2020)
- Transport operators (30 October 2020)
- Technology - the development of software or hardware, cyber, data, infrastructure, and software engineering (30 October 2020)
- Telecommunications operators (3 November 2020)
- Waste management (13 July 2020)
- Wedding venues and celebrants (20 November 2020)
Browse advice by topic
Sources of finance
Information for businesses, the third sector and the self-employed.
Support by industry sector
All sectors in Scotland are experiencing the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, some more than others.
Protecting your workforce
Guidance on employment, key workers, furloughed workers, including sick leave and pay entitlements.
Business rates and tax
Support and advice on business tax, rates and accounts.
Business continuity
Checklists and information to help you manage disruption to your business in these challenging times
Webinars and online learning
Webinars, tutorials and online learning events about the impact of the coronavirus and general business development advice.
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