COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Guidance
Know your rights: Review your licence, lease, or contract, for any clauses about market closure or event cancellation. This should include a notice period, which may range from one day to a few weeks.
– We think if the market is closed then you should not have to pay any rent. If an event is cancelled, deposits should be returned.
Vulnerable groups: If you are aged over 70, or have an underlying health condition listed here, or you are pregnant – the government advises that you follow social distancing measures. Speak with the market manager.
– We think if you are in any of these categories and you are self-isolating, you should not have to pay any rent.
Non-essential goods: Traders who sell food and neccesary goods are defined as key workers. If you sell non-essential items you will be asked not to attend the market (click here). Speak with the market manager.
– We think if you are asked not to attend the market and you are self-isolating, you should not have to pay any rent.
Keep your distance: The public must stay at least two metres away from each other and you/your staff. Anything less than this is close contact. The risk of infection increases the longer someone is in close contact.
– We encourage members to be considerate of other people on the market or event. We all assess risks to our health differently.
Keep your stall clean: Wash your hands with soap and water often. Have hand sanitiser gel on your stall. Consider wearing disposable gloves. Ask the public not to touch any of your products unless they intend to buy them.
– We are encouraging members to follow general cold and flu precautions as outlined by the government here.
Keep promoting your business: Get online and let your customers know that you are open for business. Use social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Work together and share news from other traders.
– You can find guidance on using social media in the Members Area here (call us if you have forgot your login details).
Think outside the box: Consider taking orders online, organising a ‘click and collect’ or a delivery service, or selling vouchers that can be redeemed in the future. Work together to deliver a coordinated offer.
– Share ideas with members in the community forum in the Members Area here (call us if you have forgot your login details).
Insurance matters: You have public, product, and employer’s liability insurance with your membership of the NMTF. This does not include any property, business interruption, or event cancellation insurance.
– The NMTF is not an insurance company. A full statement from the NMTF’s broker can be found below.
To obtain more information tailored to enquiries from members we asked our insurance broker about the situation and received this statement:
One of the major benefits of NMTF membership is the automatic insurance protection provided.
The NMTF arranges Employers, Public and Products Liability Insurance for all members subject to some cover restrictions depending on trading activities.
This insurance protects you if your business is negligent, you cause injury or damage and you are legally liable — for example an employee is injured at work, a customer trips over an obstacle or you supply a defective product which causes injury or damage.
To answer the question “Does my NMTF insurance cover me if my business suffers because of coronavirus (COVID-19)?”
The simple answer is “no”. The NMTF insurance does not provide any property, business interruption or event cancellation insurance.
Members who have bought these types of policies independently should check with their broker or insurance company to see if they have any cover, typically under the Business Interruption section of the policy.
At this stage, and even though the UK Government has declared it to be a Notifiable Disease, the NMTF understands it is highly unlikely Business Interruption policies will cover coronavirus claims because those policies which include Notifiable Disease cover usually list which illnesses and diseases are insured.
Coronavirus and COVID-19 will not be included on the list.
However, some policies do not list the diseases which are insured and in those circumstances there should be cover.
In a worst case scenario, it is probable that geographical areas could be quarantined with travel being either severely restricted or cut off completely.
This would have a significant impact on most businesses. Many policies contain a Denial of Access extension to the Business Interruption section. The majority typically require the denial of access to be as a result of “insured damage in the vicinity of the insured premises which prevents or hinders access to the insured premises”.
As there would be no physical damage, there would be no cover under such an extension.
This statement does not constitute advice and the NMTF recommends you contact your broker or insurance company to discuss your insurance policy cover although it will probably not be good news.
Benevolent Fund: The NMTF’s Benevolent Fund assists members in times of severe hardship. This is a charity separate from NMTF Ltd. To find out more, please email enquiries@nmtf.co.uk.
– The Benevolent Fund is run by market traders for market traders. The application includes a financial assessment.
Keep up to date: The government is the best source of guidance. The main website is gov.uk/coronavirus. Information about the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme can be found here.
– For general advice, members are welcome to contact the NMTF’s support team on 01226 749 021 or support@nmtf.co.uk.