Political update

The Government announced an additional £1.6 billion funding for councils to address pressures of the COVID-19 outbreak. This will include £300 million for the UK’s devolved administrations, including £155 million for Scotland, £95 million for Wales and £50 million for Northern Ireland.

Whilst praising the efforts that councils have made to support local businesses, Jenrick stated that some councils had been slow in making progress than others and urged all councils to accelerate their efforts.

On the Andrew Marr show, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove, appeared to confirm the government’s 3 stage traffic light approach to lifting restrictions from mid May. He suggested that consideration could be given to widening the definition of essential businesses to the supply chain and implied that hospitality and socialising would be in the third phase of reopening – potentially in the summer – with mass gatherings delayed further. He did not deny a suggestion put to him by Marr that social distancing may not be fully reversed until later this year.

We are working with Government to examine the impact of potential social distancing controls on different parts of the sector and put forward proposals for gradual lifting and extended support into the Autumn. 

 

CJRS – go live April 20: The Government has published further revised guidance on the scope and application of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ahead of the opening of the claim portal at 8am tomorrow - and you can see our updated briefing and industry FAQ here. These updates include:

Extending the scheme to allow it to run to the end of June and reviewed thereafter

Moving the eligibility date from the 28th February to the 19th March (employees need to have been on their employer’s PAYE payroll and notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 19 March 2020).

Confirming there is no requirement to get an employees written consent to be furloughed – “if this is done in a way that is consistent with employment law, that consent is valid for CJRS. There needs to be a written record, but the employee does not have to provide a written response”.

Clarifying how holiday pay should be treated and confirming employees may be placed on or take leave during furlough without invalidating their claim, but must receive 100% pay.

Further clarifications on calculation of pay and the subsequent grant claim including how pay is to be apportioned across a number of scenarios.

HMRC will check CJRS claims: it is “the claimant’s responsibility to ensure that the information provided in the application is accurate”. Moreover, HMRC state expressly that “payments may be withheld or need to be repaid in full to HMRC if the claim is based on dishonest or inaccurate information or found to be fraudulent”. It will therefore be important to maintain detailed records of decisions taken and calculations made.

In addition, HRMC have now published updated guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, further guidance on how to calculate a claim, and a simple, step-by-step guide