Northern Ireland announces the Limited Company Director’s Support Scheme
15 January 2021
The Minister for the Economy has confirmed that a Limited Company Director’s Support Scheme (LCDSS) will be established, in order to help company directors who have personally been negatively affected by coronavirus.
Online applications can be made from 6pm on 21 January 2021, and the scheme will be administered by Invest Northern Ireland.
One-off taxable grants equating to £1,000 will be issued to eligible company directors, and applications can be made by those who hold more than one directorship, although only one application can be made per person.
To be eligible, the Director must meet all of the below criteria:
- They must be a resident of Northern Ireland
- They must be a Person with Significant Control for the company or companies listed in their application (e.g. they hold more than 25% of shares in the company). There will be a requirement to list all companies in which the director holds more than a 25% share
- They must work in the company or companies named in their application
- As of 31 March 2020, at least 50% of their income must have originated from director’s remuneration (salary) and dividends. Where they are a director of more than one company, then their remuneration (salary) and dividends from all companies must represent at least 50% of their total income
- Their projected remuneration (salary) and dividends from the company for 2020-21 must be 40% lower than it would have been in the absence of coronavirus. If applicable, this must include any furloughed income received
- Their total projected taxable income for 2020-21 must be less than £50,000
The company or companies in which they are an eligible director must also:
- Be currently trading but seeing reduced demand due to coronavirus, or were previously trading but are temporarily unable to, due to coronavirus
- Be based and operating in Northern Ireland
- Have been trading at 1 March 2020
- Intend to continue trading
The following scenarios are ones in which a director cannot apply for the LCDSS:
- Individuals who are eligible for the Newly Self-Employed Support Scheme
- Directors of investment companies or property companies, unless they hold other qualifying directorships
- Directors of companies that only began trading after 1 March 2020
- Directors who finance the business, but do not work in it
- PSCs where the PSC is a trust or limited company, (e.g. only individuals who are PSCs can apply)
- The applicant has not complied with a COVID-19 prohibition notice
- The grant which will be paid from the LCDSS will result in the company that has paid the Director’s PAYE salary exceeding its applicable European Union ‘de minimis’ ceiling
An online checker relating to eligibility for the LCDSS will be made available shortly.
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.