Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
HMRC will set up a new online portal so that ALL UK employers, regardless of size, will be eligible for assistance where an employee has been designated as a ‘furloughed worker.’ HMRC will reimburse 80% of furloughed workers wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month. The current plan is that this will be in place for 3 months, at which point it will be reviewed. This will be backdated to 1 March 2020.
Employers must set out which of their employees are ‘furloughed workers’ and inform particular employees.
Furlough is the equivalent of lay off. So you can lay off staff, continue to pay them and recover 80% of that cost up to £30k per annum.
The current guidance states ‘You will remain employed while furloughed. Your employer could choose to fund the differences between this payment and your salary, but does not have to’
Changing the status of employees remains subject to existing employment law and, depending on the employment contract, may be subject to negotiation.
Deferment of VAT payments
VAT payments can be deferred for up to 3 months. Again, all UK businesses will be eligible and the scheme will run between 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020. There is no need to apply for this scheme. Businesses will be given until the end of 2020/2021 to settle outstanding VAT liabilities that have accumulated as a result of the 3-month deferral.
Time to Pay
Any business that pays tax to the UK government and has outstanding tax liabilities will be able to apply for their case to be reviewed by HMRC with a view to arranging a bespoke time to pay agreement. This applies to all businesses including the self-employed. HMRC has set up a dedicated helpline: 0800 0159 559.
Statutory Sick Pay
Employers will be able to reclaim up to 2 weeks of SSP payments per employee where those SSP payments related to Coronavirus. This applies to all UK employers with 250 employees or less as at 28 February 2020. The reclaim will not be via RTI, instead, HMRC will set up a new portal to facilitate this.
IR35 for the Private Sector
Changes to the IR35 off-payroll working rules in the private sector have been delayed by 12 months to April 2021.
Business Rates
HMRC will introduce a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England for the 2020/2021 tax year. No action is required and this will apply to your next council tax bill in April 2020 meaning that there would be no rates payable for those businesses for 2020/2021.
Cash Grants
The retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England can also apply for a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property. For rateable values of under £15,000, they will receive £10,000. Between £15,001 and £51,000, they will receive a grant of £25,000. No action is required as local authorities will write to eligible businesses.
Business Interruption Loan Scheme
The British Business Bank will launch a scheme from the week commencing 23 March 2020 to support businesses with a turnover of no more than £45 million per year. The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan. This applies for loans of up to £5m in value and for up to 6 years. No interest will be charged for the first 12 months.
The scheme is now open for applications as from Monday 23 March. To apply, you should talk to your bank or one of the 40 accredited finance providers (not the British Business Bank) as soon as possible, to discuss your business plan.
The major high street banks are on this list of 40 providers. Gov.uk states that more information can be found on their websites.
Companies House
If a company’s accounts are unlikely to be filed on time owing to being affected by Coronavirus then an application can be made to extend the period allowed for filing. Here is a link. If an application is not made and there is a late filing then the normal penalty regime would apply, so it is important to make the application ahead of the deadline.
