CIPP Payroll: need to know 2019-20

A Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Deferring VAT and Income Tax payments

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• A Statutory Sick Pay relief package for SMEs • A 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses in England • Small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief • Grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 • The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank • A new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans • The HMRC Time To Pay Scheme Of particular note is the information relating to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. This scheme will allow all UK employers to access support to allow them to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for any individuals that would have otherwise been laid off during this crisis. All UK businesses are eligible and will need to designate any affected employees as ‘furloughed workers’, notifying them of this change to their employment status. They will also need to submit information to HMRC in relation to employees that have been furloughed and provide details of their earnings through a new online portal. HMRC will then reimburse 80% of the costs of workers’ wages, up to a cap of £2,500 per month. HMRC is working urgently to set up a system for this reimbursement, as current systems do not facilitate payments to employers. For businesses in need of short term cash flow support, they may be eligible for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan. There is further discussion of the government’s plans to reimburse up to two weeks’ worth of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), per eligible employee absent due to COVID-19, for employers with less than 250 staff, as of 28 February 2020. Employers are advised to retain records of staff absences and SSP payments, but employees do not need to provide a GP fit note. If employers do require evidence, those with symptoms can obtain an isolation note from NHS 111 online, and those who live with someone displaying symptoms of COVID-19 can get a note from the NHS website. The government will be working over the coming months to set up the repayment mechanism as soon as possible. There will also be support for businesses paying tax through HMRC’s Time To Pay service, so that any businesses or self-employed individuals in financial distress, with outstanding tax liabilities, may be eligible to receive support with their tax affairs. The arrangements are to be agreed on a case-by-case basis and will be tailored to individual circumstances and liabilities. For those who have missed a tax payment, or are worried they may miss their next payment due to COVID-19, there is a dedicated helpline that they should call – 0800 0159 559.

The guidance for employees covers the following subjects: • Staying at home • Sick pay • Furloughed workers • Claiming benefits

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Coronavirus Bill: Statutory Sick Pay 23 March 2020

The first reading of the much-anticipated Coronavirus Bill took place in Parliament on 19 March 2020, and the second is scheduled to happen on 23 March 2020. The Bill includes information relating to temporary measures that the government will implement in relation to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), both in terms of a refund of up to 14 days’ worth of SSP per employee for businesses with less than 250 staff and of the payment of SSP from day one of absence as opposed to day four.

SSP was introduced back in 1983 and is payable by an employer to an employee if they are absent from work due to sickness. It is paid at a flat weekly rate and available for a maximum period of 28 weeks.

The Bill maintains that the current SSP system does not provide the flexibility necessary for the response to managing and mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. If the COVID-19 outbreak becomes severe, there will be a significant number of individuals off work, which in turn will place financial pressures on employers in the form of

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Payroll: need to know

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