Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The increasingly rapid spread of Coronavirus over the past few days has forced us to issue some immediate guidance to clients who will understandably be concerned for their business over the coming months.

DRG working practices
As a firm, we have a commitment to our clients, contacts and staff to ensure that we play our part in limiting the spread of Coronavirus. We have taken steps within the office to ensure that strict hygiene practices are followed and continue to monitor the government advice with regards our current workings arrangements.

Whilst we have not yet taken the decision to close the office, we have put arrangements in place to work remotely for when it becomes appropriate to do so. DRG has invested heavily in its IT infrastructure in recent years and staff are seamlessly able to work from home whilst maintaining the integrity and security of client data. In the event that we are required to enforce home working we will advise clients via a circular email. Our main switchboard number (01628 760000) will remain operational through a call forwarding system and the administration team will field phone calls and take messages for staff members to be able to respond directly. Individual staff email addresses will remain unaffected and general enquiries can also still be sent to info@donaldreid.co.uk. 

DRG also has access to call and web conferencing systems as an alternative to face-to-face meetings.

We are putting these arrangements in place to ensure that we are able to continue to deliver the high level of service our clients expect in these difficult and ever-changing circumstances. Some clients receive onsite support from the team and your usual client handler will be contacting you to ensure satisfactory arrangements can be put in place to allow the service to continue.

Helping clients deal with business interruption – don’t suffer in silence
Coronavirus is undoubtedly going to cause disruption to our economy. As your advisor, DRG is here to support you through the financial challenges both now and over the coming months. The Chancellor announced special measures at last week’s Budget aimed at providing assistance to businesses affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. Some of these measures will not come into effect immediately and others will likely be brought in as things develop. There are certain areas which we can discuss with you immediately that may help alleviate financial pressures, such as:

• Time To Pay arrangements with HMRC to extend the deadline for tax payments
• Business Interruption Loan Scheme which will provide government-backed finance to businesses directly affected by the Coronavirus outbreak
• Other financing arrangements for your business
• General financial management and ensuring that your business has optimised its working capital and cashflow position
• How your business can access the repayment of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) in accordance with the recently extended provisions
• Whether your business could benefit from increases to business rates relief

Having these discussions early will be important – businesses which navigated the 2008 financial crisis were those that acted quickly.  Please do not suffer in silence and ensure you pick up the phone or drop your usual client handler an email if you require advice or support.

The DRG Team