COVID-19 news
CJRS extended and lockdown announced THE JOB retention scheme, which was scheduled to replace the coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS), was cancelled at short notice. The UK government announced extension of the CJRS from 31 October 2020 until 31 March 2021, along with other amendments. See pages 16, 17 and 38. In England, a lockdown came into effect on 5 November which would end after four weeks on 2 December. CJRS claims portal THE ONLINE portal for making claims under the extended version of the CJRS opened on 11 November for those wishing to make CJRS claims relating to periods beginning on or after 1 November 2020. Under the extended CJRS, it is mandatory for claims to be submitted by 14th of the month following the period to which the claim relates. (If the 14th falls on a non-working date, the deadline is shifted to the next available working date). England: shielding and the clinically extremely vulnerable GUIDANCE ON shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) from Covid-19 can be found here: https://bit.ly/2RjSIc5. Anyone in the CEV group will previously have received notification from the National Health Service or from their GP (general practitioner). New shielding measures apply for the four weeks up to 2 December 2020. At the end of the period, the intention is to look to return to a regional approach with further guidance issued. Those in the CEV group cannot attend work and may be eligible for statutory sick pay (SSP), employment support allowance or universal credit (subject to other eligibility criteria being met). Shielding note or letter for SSP IN UPDATED guidance (https://bit.ly/35GO9A5) for the coronavirus SSP rebate scheme, HMRC confirms that employers may ask employees to provide a ‘shielding note’ or letter from their doctor or health authority, because employees are not required to provide a doctor’s fit note in order for their employer to make a claim. Redundancy, notice EMPLOYERS MAKING redundancies should do so in accordance with the normal rules (e.g. giving a notice period, and consulting staff). For claim periods relating to November 2020, employers can continue to claim for a furloughed employee who is serving a statutory notice period. For claim periods starting on or after 1 December 2020, employers cannot claim for any days on or after this date for which the furloughed employee was serving a contractual or statutory notice period (including those serving notice of retirement or resignation). If an employee subsequently starts a contractual or statutory notice period on a day covered by a previously submitted claim, the employer will need to make an adjustment. When making an employee redundant, statutory redundancy and statutory notice pay are to be based on the employee’s normal wage rather than the reduced furlough wage. If an employee was made redundant, or had ceased working, on or after 23 September 2020 their employer can re-employ them and put them on furlough. This applies as long as the employee was employed by the employer on 23 September and a PAYE RTI submission was made to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee. Archived CJRS guidance SOME OF the pages which contain obsolete CJRS guidance have been removed from Gov.UK and archived. These pages can, however, still be viewed through the UK Government Web Archive part of The National Archive . A table providing relevant search results and links for each of the main CJRS guidance pages can be found here: https://bit.ly/3kLVJh0.
SSP enhancement inWales THE WELSH government has announced (https://bit.ly/38SvOSw) that there will be additional support for care workers who are required to stay off work due to actual (or suspected) Covid-19 or because they have to self-isolate. The intention is to remove the financial disadvantage to care workers of staying away from work, which will help to protect the most vulnerable citizens. The statutory sick pay (SSP) enhancement scheme (https:// bit.ly/38SvOSw), which will run until 31 March 2021, allows employers to pay eligible workers at full pay if they cannot work due to Covid-19. Payments made under the scheme are regarded as earnings, so liable to income tax, etc. Eligibility depends on several factors: the care worker’s role; their type of employment; the reasons for their absence; and what sick pay they get.
Where an employer is eligible to participate in the scheme, all potential eligible employees are to submit a brief declaration form which states the employee is content for personal data to be shared with their local authority to administer the scheme. It is recommended that employees complete these declarations as soon as possible, so they are in place for any relevant absence. Declarations forms will be sent to employers by the local authority. Employers and care agencies are responsible for: advising staff of the availability of the scheme; issuing declaration forms; retaining declaration forms for audit/checking purposes for a minimum of 24 months after date of the payment; continuing to pay employee or agency staff at full pay (no backdated payment should be made); submitting claims to the local authority.
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| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward |
Issue 66 | December 2020 - January 2021
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