Eat Out to Help Out: briefing pack published
28 July 2020
Ahead of 3 August 2020, when the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme begins, HMRC has circulated a briefing pack on the topic.
Businesses are being urged to sign up to the scheme, and to take advantage of its benefits. Thousands of eating establishments have already joined, including big names like Greene King and Wagamamas, which will allow them to give their customers 50% off food and any non-alcoholic drinks, up to a maximum of £10 per head, for every Monday to Wednesday in August. Any participating companies will then be reimbursed for the discount they provide to their customers. It is anticipated that the scheme will support approximately 130,000 businesses, protecting the jobs of up to 1.8 million workers.
Eligible establishments are encouraged to register online now before the scheme opens to customers next week. The registration portal will close on 31 August 2020. Food must be consumed on the premises, which must provide its own dining area or share it with another premises that allows customers to dine-in. Places such as restaurants, public houses that serve food and hotel restaurants will be eligible for the scheme.
Businesses can submit claims seven days after registration for days that the scheme has been operated on, and can claim once each week in August 2020. Payments will be made within five days of a claim being submitted. Once businesses have registered, they will receive a Welcome letter, promotional poster and a sticker to place in their window to inform customers that they are a member of the scheme. Additional promotional material is available at GOV.UK.
Tax agents and other intermediaries are not able to register or submit claims on behalf of their clients. Doing so may trigger a fraud alert which would subsequently mean delays in both registering and claiming. The advice given is that both the registration and the claims processes are easy to do.
The key dates to be aware of are:
- 13 July – 31 August: Registration opens to businesses
- 27 July: Restaurant finder goes live at gov.uk/eatout to help customers find which businesses are participating
- 3 August: Customers can start using the discount at registered establishments every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday throughout August
- 7 August: The claims portal for establishments goes live – establishments can start to claim back the value of the discounts applied
- 31 August: Scheme closes to customers
- 30 September: Deadline for final claims from establishments
The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication. For all the latest information, news and resources on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting payroll professions, visit our Coronavirus hub.