Here we focus on some of the less high profile support measures including :-
RATES HOLIDAY FOR RETAIL, HOSPITALITY & LEISURE
RENTERS AND COMMERCIAL TENANCIES
STATUTORY SICK PAY
UP TO 10K FINE FOR FIRMS WHO STOP SELF-ISOLATION
£500 SELF ISOLATION PAYMENT FOR THOSE ON LOW INCOME
HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT AND PAY DURING COVID19
CORONAVIRUS AND CLAIMING BENEFITS
BUSINESS INTERRUPTION INSURANCE AND COVID 19
LINKS TO GOV.UK FOR ALL FORMS OF BUSINESS SUPPORT
BUSINESS RATES HOLIDAY
The existing holiday on business rates has been extended to June 2021 for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. Business rates for the remainder of the financial year 2021/22 will then discounted be discounted by 66%.
PAYING TAX: TIME TO PAY SERVICE :
If you’re struggling to pay your tax bill on time, or you’re experiencing financial difficulties you can contact HMRC’s Time to Pay service
V.A.T. :-
RETAIL & HOSPITALITY VAT CUT EXTENSION
Extension on the temporary 15% VAT cut to 5% for the tourism and hospitality sectors ends on September 30, 2021 and will then move to an interim rate of 2.5% until March 31, 2022
COMMERCIAL TENANCIES
The government will legislate to ringfence rent debt accrued during the pandemic by businesses affected by enforced closures and set out a process of binding arbitration to be undertaken between landlords and tenants.
This is to be used as a last resort, after bilateral negotiations have been undertaken and only where landlords and tenants cannot otherwise come to a resolution. Ahead of the system being put in place, we will publish the principles which we will seek to put into legislation in a revised Code of Practice, to allow landlords and tenants time to negotiate on that basis.
The guidance is clear both landlords and tenants should continue to work together to agree rent payment options if businesses are struggling. In June, the government published a Code of Practice to support these discussions.
Further information
General enquiries: If you are a member of the public 030 3444 0000
STATUTORY SICK PAY
The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme is now live.
Claim back Statutory Sick Pay paid to your employees due to coronavirus
You can now claim for employees who are self-isolating because they’ve been notified by the NHS or public health bodies that they’ve come into contact with someone with coronavirus
The scheme will allow small and medium-sized employers, with fewer than 250 employees, to apply to HMRC to recover the costs of paying coronavirus-related SSP.
Contents
To use the online service you will need the Government Gateway user ID you got when you registered for PAYE Online.
If you did not register online you will need to enrol for the PAYE Online service.
Find your lost Government Gateway user ID if you do not have it.
If you use an agent who is authorised to do PAYE online for you, they will be able to claim on your behalf.
The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme will repay employers the SSP paid to current or former employees.
What you can claim
The repayment will cover up to 2 weeks SSP starting from the first qualifying day of sickness, if an employee is unable to work because they:
have coronavirus symptoms
are self-isolating because someone they live with has symptoms
are self-isolating because they’ve been notified by the NHS or public health bodies that they’ve come into contact with someone with coronavirus
are shielding and have a letter from the NHS or a GP telling them to stay at home for at least 12 weeks
have been notified by the NHS to self-isolate before surgery for up to 14 days
You can make more than one claim per employee, but you cannot claim for more than 2 weeks in total.
You can claim from the first qualifying day your employee is off work if the period of sickness started on or after:
13 March 2020 – if your employee had coronavirus or the symptoms or is self-isolating because someone they live with has symptoms
16 April 2020 – if your employee was shielding because of coronavirus
28 May 2020 – if your employee has been notified by the NHS or public health bodies that they’ve come into contact with someone with coronavirus
26 August 2020 – if your employee has been notified by the NHS to self-isolate before surgery
Most people are asked to self-isolate for 3 days before surgery. In this case, the day of surgery will be the 4th day of their period of incapacity for work. You cannot claim repayment of SSP for the day of surgery or any other days when the absence is not due to coronavirus.
A ‘qualifying day’ is a day an employee usually works on. The weekly rate was £94.25 before 6 April 2020 and is now £95.85. If you’re an employer who pays more than the weekly rate of SSP you can only claim up to the weekly rate paid.
If an employee has returned to the UK
From 8 June 2020, some people entering or returning to the UK will be required to quarantine for 14 days. If an employee is unable to work during this period, they will not qualify for SSP unless they also meet one of the above criteria.
The weekly rate was £94.25 before 6 April 2020 and is now £95.85. If you’re an employer who pays more than the weekly rate of SSP you can only claim up to the weekly rate paid.
Use the SSP calculator to work out the actual amount.
UP TO 10K FINE FOR FIRMS WHO STOP SELF-ISOLATION
Business owners who threaten self-isolating staff with redundancy if they do not come to work can be fined up to £10,000 from 28 September.
People will be required by law to self-isolate from 28 September, supported by payment of £500, for those on lower incomes who cannot work from home and have lost income as a result.
There will be fines for those breaching self-isolation rules will start at £1,000 – bringing this in line with the penalty for breaking quarantine after international travel - but could increase to up to £10,000 for repeat offences and for the most egregious breaches, including for those preventing others from self-isolating.
Steps will be taken to make sure that people are complying with the rules, these include:
NHS Test and Trace call handlers making regular contact with those self-isolating, with the ability to escalate any suspicion of non-compliance to Local Authorities and local police;
Using police resources to check compliance in highest incidence areas and in high-risk groups, based on local intelligence;
Investigating and prosecuting high-profile and egregious cases of non-compliance; and
Acting on instances where third parties have identified others who have tested positive, but are not self-isolating.
£500 SELF ISOLATION PAYMENT
If you’re asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace and you’re on a low income, unable to work from home and will lose income as a result, you may be entitled to a payment of £500 from your local authority under the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme.
The scheme will run until 31 January 2021.
Eligibility
If you have been told to self-isolate on or after 28 September 2020, you’re under a legal obligation to do so, and could be eligible for a £500 Test and Trace Support Payment if you live in England and meet all the following criteria:
you have been told to stay at home and self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, either because you have tested positive for coronavirus or have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive
you’re employed or self-employed
you’re unable to work from home and will lose income as a result of self-isolating
you’re currently receiving at least one of the following:
Universal Credit
Working Tax Credit
income-based Employment and Support Allowance
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income Support
Housing Benefit
Pension Credit
If you do not fulfil the above criteria for the Test and Trace Support Payment, you could be eligible for a £500 discretionary payment if you live in England and meet the following criteria:
you have been told to stay at home and self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, either because you have tested positive for coronavirus or have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive
you are employed or self-employed
you are unable to work from home and will lose income as a result of self-isolating
you are not currently receiving Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit and/or Pension Credit
you are on a low income and will face financial hardship as a result of not being able to work while you are self-isolating
If you’re eligible for either the Test and Trace Support Payment or discretionary payment, you will receive the £500 payment on top of any benefits and Statutory Sick Pay that you currently receive.
HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT AND PAY DURING COVID19
Contents
This guidance outlines how holiday entitlement and pay operate during the coronavirus pandemic. It is designed to help employers understand their legal obligations, in terms of workers who:
continue to work
have been placed on furlough as part of the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)
This guidance should not be treated as legal advice. Employers and workers should always check individual contracts and if necessary seek independent legal advice.
OPTION TO TAX LAND AND BUILDINGS
Check above for the temporary changes to the time limit and rules for notifying an option to tax land and buildings.
CORONAVIRUS AND CLAIMING BENEFITS
If you’re part of a working household that receives tax credits, you may be eligible for a new one-off payment of £500. The new payment is being introduced to provide extra support when the temporary increase in Working Tax Credit ends as planned on 5 April 2021.
You do not need to apply for the new payment. HMRC will contact you by text message or letter in April to confirm you are eligible. You do not need to contact HMRC.
This includes those who, on 2 March 2021, receive:
Working Tax Credit payments
both Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit payments
Child Tax Credit payments and are eligible for Working Tax Credit but do not get a payment because their income is too high
If you are eligible, you should receive your payment by 23 April 2021.
Redundancy :- finding work and benefits
Universal credit eligibility checker
New Style Employment and Support Allowance: detailed guide
TAX CREDITS,CHILD BENEFIT & GUARDIAN'S ALLOWANCE
Reduced income? Check if you could get child benefit
The Government has confirmed that people who are unable to work their normal hours because of coronavirus (COVID-19) will still receive their usual tax credits payments.
Those working reduced hours due to coronavirus or those being furloughed by their employer will not have their tax credits payments affected if they are still employed or self-employed.
Further information can be found here.
The Government is uprating Child Benefit, other tax credits rates and thresholds, and Guardian’s Allowance by 1.7% with effect from 6 April 2020. Child Benefit rises to £21.05 per week (from £20.70 per week) for the eldest/only child, and to £13.95 (from £13.70) for other children.
The government has announced that Working Tax Credits (WTC) payments will be increased from 6 April 2020, WTC payments will be increased by £1,045 to £3,040 per year from 6 April 2020 until 5 April 2021.
NEW RATES AND CALCULATORS
The amount a claimant or household will benefit from will depend on their circumstances, including their level of household income. But the increase could mean up to an extra £20 each week.
Due to COVID-19, there are new temporary guidelines in place if your circumstances change as a direct result of COVID-19.
· If your working hours have been temporarily impacted due to these exceptional circumstances and are expected to last 8 weeks or more, you do not have to contact the Tax Credit Office and your payments will continue as normal.
· Further guidance will be provided by the Tax Credit Office after 8 weeks.
· However, it is important to know that if you have any change in circumstances that have not been a direct impact of COVID-19 then you must as normal contact the Tax Credit Office and notify them within the 30 days of the change.
Help Line 0345 300 3900
The normal guidance when receiving W.T.C. is that you must notify the Tax Credit Office within 30 days if you have a change in circumstance such as:
Losing a job
Having a child
Start working less than 16 hours a week
INSURANCE AND COVID 19
BUSINESS INTERRUPTION INSURANCE
THE SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT
On 15 January 2021, the Supreme Court handed down its judgment on the issues on appeal from the High Court. Its judgment relates to the High Court’s interpretation of common clauses in 13 out of the 21 business interruption policies in the representative sample. The judgment also considers whether the prevalence of coronavirus in or near the business was the effective ‘cause’ of losses.
The Supreme Court judgment is complex, runs to 112 pages and deals with many issues. A summary of the key points is below. Our legal team at Herbert Smith Freehills have published a bulletin summarising the judgment on their website, which may be referred to for further detail.
The FCA argued for policyholders that the ‘disease’ and ‘prevention of access’ clauses in the representative sample of 21 policy types provide cover in the circumstances of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, and that the trigger for cover caused policyholders’ losses.
The High Court’s judgment last September said that most of the disease clauses and certain prevention of access clauses (12 policy types from the sample of 21, issued by six insurers) provide cover and that the pandemic and the Government and public response caused the business interruption losses. The six insurers appealed those conclusions for 11 of the policy types, but the Supreme Court has dismissed those appeals, for different reasons from those of the High Court.
On the FCA’s appeal, the Supreme Court ruled that cover may be available for partial closure of premises (as well as full closure) and for mandatory closure orders that were not legally binding; that valid claims should not be reduced because the loss would have resulted in any event from the pandemic; and that two additional policy types from insurer QBE provide cover. This will mean that more policyholders will have valid claims and some pay-outs will be higher.
The judgment is legally binding on the eight insurers that agreed to be parties to the test case. Those insurers are:
Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd
Argenta Syndicate Management Ltd
Ecclesiastical Insurance Office Plc
MS Amlin Underwriting Ltd
Hiscox Insurance Company Ltd
QBE UK Ltd
Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Plc
Zurich Insurance Plc
The judgment also provides authoritative guidance for the interpretation of similar policy wordings and claims. It can be taken into account in other court cases, including in Scotland and Northern Ireland, by the Financial Ombudsman and by the FCA in looking at whether insurers are handling claims fairly. The judgment does not determine how much is payable under individual policies, but provides the basis for doing so.
THE HIGH COURT JUDGEMENT
The High Court handed down its judgement on 15 September 2020. Large parts of the High Court’s judgment (and the associated declarations) are superseded by the judgment of the Supreme Court. But certain parts of the High Court’s judgment were not appealed and therefore have a status similar to that of the Supreme Court’s judgment as described above.
FCA GUIDANCE
We have published the following guidance and statements of particular importance to policyholders:
Draft guidance for policyholders on how to prove the presence of coronavirus, which is a condition in certain types of policy. We will issue finalised guidance as soon as possible once the consultation period ends.
A list of policies with claims that may be affected by the test case (last updated 15 July 2020 – this does not reflect the outcomes of the test case).
Statements on considerations that should be taken into account when applying deductions of government support received by policyholders (see under the heading 'Government support' in the FCA's Dear CEO letter dated 18 September 2020).
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TRADE CREDIT INSURANCE BACKDATED TO APRIL 1 2020
Trade Credit Insurance, which provides essential cover to hundreds of thousands of business-to-business transactions, will receive up to £10 billion of government guarantees.
measures will support thousands of businesses by protecting against customer defaults or payment delays
scheme is available on a temporary basis for nine months, backdated to 1 April 2020, and available insurers operating in the UK market
to protect businesses that the private credit market cannot insure,export credit insurance is also available from UK Export Finance to cover UK exports to 180 countries.
The guarantees will support supply chains and help businesses during the coronavirus pandemic to trade with confidence, safe in the knowledge that they will be protected if a customer defaults or delays on payment.
OTHER GOV.UK LINKS
Gov.uk Content
Support for small and medium-sized businesses
Support for businesses during local lockdowns
(COVID-19): information for farmers, landowners and rural businesses
Redundancy:- finding work and benefits
Universal credit eligibility checker
We're here to help you through this together, so the T+G support blog is updated every day.
For further guidance call 01995 600 600, or email our support team at covid19@tagac.co.uk