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Follow NWEDR | Connect With North Worcs EDR | Visit NWEDR
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Overview of grants and business support
NWedR has collated information on the current grants and support available to North Worcestershire businesses. This ‘at a glance’ summary has been designed to provide a quick overview for business leaders across the area. This is being updated regularly and displayed on the front page of our website.
Read the summary
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Chancellor eases financial burden to businesses
Businesses that took out government-backed Bounce Back Loans to get through Covid-19 will now have greater flexibility to repay their loans. The revisions mean that borrowers will now have the option to tailor payments according to their individual circumstances including an option to delay all repayments for a further six months. The Pay as You Grow scheme will be available to over 1.4 million businesses, which collectively took out nearly £45 billion through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme
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Chance to shine in the 2022 Celebrating North Worcestershire calendar
NWedR and North Worcestershire Business Leaders (NWBL) have partnered once again to invite local businesses to submit just 50 words about the area for a chance to win a fantastic package of free marketing support. Now in its fourth year, the 2022 ‘Celebrating North Worcestershire’ competition provides the opportunity to win a valuable prize which will go to 12 lucky businesses. The prize includes a spotlight month in the wonderful ‘Celebrating North Worcestershire Calendar’ with a dedicated company photoshoot, features in the NWedR newsletter, social media PR campaign, an online feature in Business and Innovation magazine and your company photograph highlighted for a year on the NWedR and NWBL website photo galleries. The competition winners panel judges are looking for the most memorable, clear and insightful descriptions of why North Worcestershire is the best location for business.
Picture shows: February 2021 Calendar winners Bumble Hole Foods reminding us to enjoy Valentines Day this Sunday. See the 2021 Celebrating North Worcestershire calendar photo gallery. Entries for 2022 are open now and close on Tuesday 4 May 2021.
Enter online now!
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Help to support your favourite Charity with Thursfields
Put your favourite local charity forward to receive support. Each year, Thursfields Solicitors chooses five local charities to support throughout the year. Support is by way of raising funds, awareness and providing volunteers.This year’s application window is open until Saturday 20 March 2021.
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Calling all North Worcestershire businesses
Would you like to be involved in preventing holiday hunger for children this Easter? Ready, Steady, Worcestershire is the countywide response to provision of food and activities for disadvantaged families in the school holidays. Plans are underway and the team would be interested to hear from local businesses, who may like to support this initiative. Full details of how the scheme will work will follow in the weeks ahead, but at this stage please express your interest in being involved by emailing Jenny Moreton inserting ‘Food – Bromsgrove’ or ‘Food – Wyre Forest’ or ‘Food – Redditch’ in the subject line according to your local authority. Please state your business name, a point of contact and telephone number and a brief statement on how your business could support this initiative. Thank you!
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Here2Help
Worcestershire County Council’s Here2Help scheme is there to help you, your family, your community and your business. This website provides users with information on what you can to do to stay safe and help others. There are areas for how to manage your mental health during the pandemic and a place to showcase how others are helping their communities during this tough time.
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Grow your green credentials
Join the on-line event on Thursday 25 February to find out about Green Grants available for Worcestershire businesses. This event starting at 9.30am to 11.00am will introduce you to the grant funding and support schemes available in Worcestershire that can support you with accessing business grants for energy efficiency, growth and innovation, accessing support and funding to develop and commercialise green products and services, reducing costs and driving down the environmental impact of your business – save energy = save cash whilst building genuine and valuable green credentials.
Hear about the Business Energy Efficiency Programme (BEEP), the Low Carbon Opportunities Programme (LOCOP), and the Public Energy Efficiency Programme (PEEP) and more.
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Be Covid safe at work
If you are an employer with employees coming into the workplace, take extra care to ensure you are complying with the social distancing rules and providing your employees with the space and equipment they need to stay Covid safe.
Public Health at Worcestershire County Council have produced a series of workplace communications tools covering common things that cause outbreaks such as car sharing, making drinks for others, hand hygiene and social distancing.
Businesses can use these guides as appropriate to prevent an outbreak at their workplace. Usefully they also include material in a variety of international languages. These tools can be found here.
Find out more about county Coronavirus cases Worcestershire data dashboard on the County Council’s website.
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Protect your employees
As an employer, you can register to order Coronavirus tests for your employees if your business is registered in England, you employ 50 people or more and your employees cannot work from home. Register to order Coronavirus tests for your employees
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Book a personal Covid test
You can book a personal Covid test in Worcestershire as long as you are asymptomatic – not showing any symptoms of Covid such as a high temperature, a new continuous cough or any changes to your sense of taste and smell.
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Have you considered working in adult social care?
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) is urging people to apply for rewarding short-term and long-term opportunities in the adult social care sector to support care home residents and those being cared for at home. Jobseekers, volunteers and people on furlough can now register their interest for short-term opportunities including personal care and providing wellbeing support. More information about a longer-term career in social care and a search for jobs function is available by visiting the Every Day is Different website.
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Should your employees be vaccinated?
Danton HR, based in Bromsgrove, has helpfully provided a blog to help businesses on the matter of whether employers can require their employees to be Covid-19 vaccinated. The blog includes:
- Factors to consider when requiring employees to attend work
- What the Covid-19 vaccine means to employers
- Making the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory for staff
- The risks associated with making the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory
- Encouraging uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine
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Exit from the EU - webinars, videos and tools for businesses
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published a series of short, on-demand videos to support businesses following the end of the transition period. Topics covered include importing and exporting, rules of origin, audit and accounting, and registration is needed to access the video content. Register here to access the transition tools.
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Look after your mental health
Current research shows that employees are struggling with their mental health due to external circumstances often beyond their control. As an employer there are some simple steps you can take to show commitment and support to your employees. MIND has produced an excellent toolkit for employers.
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