COVID-19/Coronavirus Updates and Resources

Either directly through NHS Trusts or by filling in this form.

You can use this form to submit an offer to the UK Government to supply ventilation devices for the NHS.

The UK Government has made a commitment to deliver 100.000 COVID-19 tests a day by the end of April. For this purpose, it has put out guidance on what is needed and how companies can support, available here.

VAT payments will be deferred for 3 months, until the 30^th of June 2020. Taxpayers will be given until the end of the 2020 to 2021 tax year to pay any liabilities that have accumulated during the deferral period. This is an automatic offer with no applications required. Businesses will not need to make a VAT payment during this period.

Government grants will cover 80% of the salary of retained workers, up to a total of £2,500 a month. The scheme, open to any employer in the country, will cover the cost of wages backdated to March 1st. The scheme will be open for claim submissions in the week commencing 20 April and will remain open until October. The employer can choose to fund the differences between the grant and an employee’s salary but does not have to. More information on the Job Retention Scheme is available here.

On Thursday 23^rd April 2020, HM Revenue and Customs updated its guidance directed to both employers and employees on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Hudson McKenzie have provided more information for employers and employees here.

Employers have until 10 June to furlough an employee for the first time, as the Job Retention Scheme will be closed to new entrants from 30 June.

This scheme enables SMEs to apply for a loan, up to £5m, with the government providing a guarantee of 80% on each loan and with no interest due for the first twelve months. The scheme will be delivered through commercial lenders, backed by the British Business Bank. CBILS is now open for applications. A quick eligibility checklist is available here, and a step by step guide on how to apply is available here.

The UK government is temporarily increasing the Business Rates discount to all businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England to 100% for 2020-21, irrespective of rateable value.  Businesses that received the retail discount in the 2019 to 2020 tax year will be rebilled by their local authority as soon as possible. The temporary discount will automatically apply to your next bill in April 2020. For more information on eligibility, click here.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) can be reclaimed for sickness absence due to COVID-19 and is payable from day one of sickness absence. This refund will cover up to 2 weeks’ SSP per eligible employee who has been off work because of COVID-19. Employers with fewer than 250 employees will be eligible – the size of an employer will be determined by the number of people they employed as of 28 February 2020. Employers will be able to reclaim expenditure for any employee who has claimed SSP (according to the new eligibility criteria) as a result of COVID-19. More information available here.

On Monday 27^th April 2020, HM Revenue & Customs published guidance documents for employers on how to calculate employees’ statutory pay for specific employees who have recently been furloughed.

The following employees will now be paid based on their usual earnings, not the furlough rate:

• Workers taking paid maternity leave
• Workers taking paid paternity leave
• Workers taking paid shared parental leave
• Workers taking paid adoption leave
• Workers taking paid parental bereavement leave

Further information and key points to consider available via Hudson McKenzie – here.

The CARES Act, signed into law on March 27, contains $376 billion in relief for American workers and small businesses, and established several new temporary programs to address the COVID-19 outbreak.

• The Paycheck Protection Program, which provides loan forgiveness for retaining employees by temporarily expanding the traditional SBA 7(a) loan program.
• EIDL Loan Advance will provide up to $10,000 of economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing temporary difficulties.
• SBA Express Bridge Loans enable small businesses who currently have a business relationship with an SBA Express Lender to access up to $25,000 quickly.
• SBA Debt Relief will provide a financial reprieve to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Paycheck Protection Program is available to all companies with majority operations in the US. If one or more of your company’s owners is not a US citizen or domiciled in the US, the company still qualifies. More information on the PPP is available here.

On Wednesday 29^th April 2020, the Home Secretary Priti Patel notified the public that visa extensions will automatically be conferred on overseas front-line health and care workers.

Who is eligible for a visa extension?

Frontline workers with visas due to expire prior to 1^st October 2020 will qualify to receive an automatic 1-year extension to their visa stay.

Front line workers who are eligible include midwives, radiographers, social workers, pharmacists, those working in the NHS and the independent sector. This will also apply to their families.

When does this policy come into effect?

This announcement will be effective immediately and applies to all visas which expire between 31^st March 2020 and 1^st October 2020.

More information is available through our friends at Hudson McKenzie – click here.