Hospitality Business Guidance
The latest updates and information for Businesses in the hospitality sector including, Lisenced premises, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes.
1. The latest advice and guidance
2. Workplace safety guidance
3. Face coverings
4. Grants and Business rates support
5. Useful Links
1. The latest advice and guidance
The Prime Minister has announced new measures to tackle coronavirus (Covid-19) to come into force from midnight tonight Monday 4 January.
Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home
You must stay at home. The single most important action we can all take is to stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives.
You should follow this guidance immediately. The law will be updated to reflect these new rules.
From 00:01am, Thursday 31 December, Bolton is in the Tier 4 (Stay at Home) level of coronavirus restrictions.
You may only leave your home for the following reasons:
- Work: Where you place of work remains open and you cannot work from home.
- Education: Attending school, college, university as well as under-18 sport and registered childcare.
- Childcare: People can continue existing arrangements for contact between parents and children where they live apart (this includes childcare bubbles).
- Visiting people in your support bubble.
- Exercise: Unlimited exercise outdoors either alone, or in a public outdoor place with your household, support bubble, or one other person.
- Essential services: Shopping for food or access critical public services.
- Care: provide care for vulnerable people, to provide emergency assistance, attend a support group (of up to 15 people), or for respite care where that care is being provided to a vulnerable person or a person with a disability, or is a short break in respect of a looked after child.
- Medical reasons: Medical reasons, including to get a COVID-19 test, for medical appointments and emergencies or to be with someone who is giving birth.
- Compassionate visits: to visit someone who is dying or someone in a care home (if permitted under care home guidance).
- Avoid harm: To avoid injury or illness or to escape risk of harm (such as domestic abuse), or for animal welfare reasons.
- Worship and life events: To attend a place of worship for communal worship, weddings and funerals will have restrictions on the number of attendees.
- To fulfil legal obligations.
- Activities relating to the buying, selling, or letting of a property.
- Voting in an election or referendum.
Residents are asked to stay local as much as possible when leaving home.
Businesses and venues which must close
To reduce social contact, the regulations require some businesses to close and impose restrictions on how some businesses provide goods and services. The businesses required to close include:
- non-essential retail, such as clothing and homeware stores, vehicle showrooms (other than for rental), betting shops, tailors, tobacco and vape shops, electronic goods and mobile phone shops, auction houses (except for auctions of livestock or agricultural equipment) and market stalls selling non-essential goods – these venues can continue to be able to operate click-and-collect (where goods are pre-ordered and collected off the premises) and delivery services
- hospitality venues such as cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and social clubs; with the exception of providing food and drink for takeaway (until 11pm), click-and-collect, drive-through or delivery
- accommodation such as hotels, hostels, guest houses and campsites, except for specific circumstances, such as where these act as someone’s main residence, where the person cannot return home, for providing accommodation or support to the homeless, or where it is essential to stay there for work purposes
- leisure and sports facilities such as leisure centres and indoor gyms, indoor swimming pools, indoor sports courts, indoor fitness and dance studios, indoor riding centres, and indoor climbing walls
- entertainment venues such as theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and galleries, casinos, amusement arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, skating rinks, go-karting venues, indoor play and soft play centres and areas (including inflatable parks and trampolining centres), circuses, fairgrounds, funfairs, zoos and other animal attractions, water parks and theme parks
- indoor attractions at venues such as botanical gardens, heritage homes and landmarks must also close, though outdoor grounds of these premises can stay open
- personal care facilities such as hair, beauty, tanning and nail salons. Tattoo parlours, spas, massage parlours, body and skin piercing services must also close. These services should not be provided in other people’s homes
- community centres and halls must close except for a limited number of exempt activities, as set out below. Libraries can also remain open to provide access to IT and digital services – for example for people who do not have it at home – and for click-and-collect services
Some of these businesses and places will also be permitted to be open for a small number of exempt activities, including:
- education and training – for schools to use sports, leisure and community facilities where that is part of their normal provision
- childcare purposes and supervised activities for children
- hosting blood donation sessions and food banks
- to provide medical treatment
- for elite sports persons to train and compete (in indoor and outdoor sports facilities), and professional dancers and choreographers to work (in fitness and dance studios)
- for training and rehearsal without an audience (in theatres and concert halls)
- for the purposes of film and TV filming
Businesses and venues which can remain open
Other businesses and venues are permitted to stay open, following COVID-19 secure guidelines. This includes those providing essential goods and services, including:
- essential retail such as food shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, garden centres, building merchants and suppliers of building products and off-licences
- market stalls selling essential retail may also stay open
- businesses providing repair services may also stay open, where they primarily offer repair services
- petrol stations, automatic (but not manual) car washes, vehicle repair and MOT services, bicycle shops, and taxi and vehicle hire businesses
- banks, building societies, post offices, short-term loan providers and money transfer businesses
- funeral directors
- laundrettes and dry cleaners
- medical and dental services
- vets and pet shops
- animal rescue centres, boarding facilities, and animal groomers (may continue to be used for animal welfare, rather than aesthetic purposes)
- agricultural supplies shops
- mobility and disability support shops
- storage and distribution facilities
- car parks, public toilets and motorway service areas
- outdoor playgrounds
- outdoor gym, pools, sports courts and facilities
- golf courses
- archery/driving/shooting ranges (outdoors)
- outdoor riding centres
- places of worship
- crematoriums and burial grounds
A number of new covid regulations came into force on on 6th January and these include the change that restricted businesses (on sale licences) can now only sell alcohol via home delivery and off sales from on licensed premises are now unlawful. To check the latest regulation go to https://www.legislation.gov.uk/coronavirus.
2. Workplace safety guidance
We understand that this continues to be a worrying and distressing time for businesses and raises many questions. Please be assured that we are working hard with our partners in health and elsewhere to keep all our residents safe and to do everything we can to help businesses to continue to run in the safest way possible.
The safety of you and your staff and the safety of your customers remains paramount in enabling this to take place and we continue to offer any assistance we can to provide extra support for the hospitality sector.
Please see below a link to the latest information available for settings including;
- Hotels
- Restaurants
- Bars
- Pubs
- Cafes
- Takeaways
This guidance outlines;
- Practical actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19
- How to use NHS Track & Trace
- What to do in the event of a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case(s)
- Contact information should you need further assistance
For the latest Government Guidance on working safely please go to www.gov.uk
3. Face coverings
It is important that you ensure that your staff are wearing face-coverings in areas that that are open to the public and where they're likely to come into contact witha member of the public.
A face covering is: something which safely covers the nose and mouth. You can buy reusable or single-use face coverings.
If businesses have taken steps to create a physical barrier or screen between workers and members of the public then staff behind the barrier or screen will not be required to wear a face covering. Enforcement action can be taken if barriers and screens are in place which do not adequately mitigate risks.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) can issue fines (Fixed Penalty Notices - £200) to those who fail to wear face coverings.
The latest guidance has been issued by Government in relation to working safely in takeaways, cafes, restaurants, bars and pubs. Guidance in being updated all the time, so please ensure you remain up to date on any changes.
Please download this poster and display in a visable location in the relevant area to act as a reminder for customers and staff about wearing face coverings.
If you fail to display such a notice you can be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice for £1000 by Bolton Council.
The situation will be monitored and and any continued non – compliance will be reported to GMP.
In order to minimise the spread of coronavirus throughout the population - everyone must play their part.
If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to make contact with the team at environmentalhealthcovidinbox@bolton.gov.uk.
4. Business rates and grant support
Financial Support for Businesses
Local Restrictions Support Grants
We are currently processing all applications received for the following grants;
- Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed)
- Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open)
- Local Restrictions Support Grant (Sector)
- Additional Restrictions Grants
- Christmas Support Payment for Pubs
The team are working extremely hard to process and assess all applications as quickly as possible and are aiming to process applications within 28 days of receipt of a full application (including all supporting information). Eligibility for all grants will be assessed at the same time so you only need to apply once, this includes the Closed Business Lockdown Payment.
If you do not receive any communication after 28 days from the date you submitted your full application, please get back in touch with us by emailing businessbolton@bolton.gov.uk and we will look into your application further.
b. Grants following restrictions from 31 December 2020
Businesses that have been paid the rolling Tier 3 grant (due to having to remain closed from 2 December 2020) will be paid their next grant and do not need to re-apply.
Payments will start to be processed from 14 January 2021 and will be a payment covering the period 30 December 2020 to 15 February 2021 (49 days) to reflect the additional day spent in Tier 3.
Businesses that have had to close from Thursday 31 December 2020 or from 5 January 2021 can apply for the Local restrictions support grant (closed businesses).
Payments will start to be processed from 14 January 2021 and will cover the period 31 December 2020 to 15 February 2021 (48 days). The payment will include the Closed Business Lockdown Payment.
The Application Period ends 31 March 2021.
c. Additional Restrictions Grant
Bolton Council’s Additional Restrictions Grant scheme is for businesses required to close but who are not liable for business rates, or those that have not been legally forced to close but are nonetheless severely impacted by the restrictions.
The payment amounts will be a single payment based upon the amount similar businesses in the same sector are being estimated to receive from the open and closed grant schemes currently in place.
If you have already had a payment up to 30 December 2020 an additional payment will be raised by 31 January 2021.
d. Closed businesses Lockdown Payment
This one-off grant worth up to £9,000 announced by the Chancellor will be paid on top of existing grants to businesses with a business rates account that have been required to close due to national restrictions from 5 January 2021.
The grant will be processed and paid automatically alongside the Closed grant scheme already in place following Tier 3/4 restrictions. A specific application for this grant is not required (it will be paid together with the next Closed grant payment).
The grant must be paid by 30 April 2021.
e. Other Government support and funding
For further information on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Self Employment Support Scheme and other financial support available to help your business during Covid-19 - find out the latest information here.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick announced on 9 December 2020 that business owners affected by the pandemic will be protected from eviction until the end of March 2021. See the updated code of conduct for commercial landlords and tenants.
5. Useful Information
- #Openforbusiness - if you would like free promotional materials to support your business, including posters and floor stickers contact the team or download posters at www.bolton.gov.uk.
- Redundancy support - if your business is experiencing financial difficulties, further information and support is available here .
- If your job is at risk or you've been made redundant you are not alone, The Licensed Trade Charity have helped over 50,000 people this year. You can talk to them about money, redundancy, back to work support and mental health. Call FREE 24/7 on 0808 801 0550.
- Working Well Early Help offer quick, free access to mental and physical health therapies and can support you and your staff with out NHS backed service which is quick and free to use. Call 0300 456 8107 or Email: workingwellearlyhelp@maximusuk.co.uk