Mel’s COVID-19 Update: 26th August 2020

You cannot claim for:

• Additional National Insurance or pension contributions you make because you choose to top up your employees' wages
• Your employees’ wages for any time they spend working, or any National Insurance or pension contributions you make on these wages
• Any pension contributions you make that are above the mandatory employer contribution

You can choose to top up your employees’ wages above the minimum furlough pay amount, but you do not have to. Employees must not work or provide any services for the business during hours which they are recorded as being on furlough, even if they receive a top-up wage.

Please talk to us if you need assistance in making these claims.

Please click here to find out more.

What You Need To Do From 1st September:

• From 1 September CJRS will pay 70% of usual wages up to a cap of £2,187.50 per month for the hours furloughed employees do not work.
• You will still need to pay your furloughed employees at least 80% of their usual wages for the hours they do not work, up to a cap of £2,500 per month. You will need to fund the difference between this and the CJRS grant yourself.
• The caps are proportional to the hours not worked. For example, if your employee is furloughed for half their usual hours in September, you are entitled to claim 70% of their usual wages for the hours they do not work up to £1,093.75 (50% of the £2,187.50 cap).
• You will continue to have to pay furloughed employees’ National Insurance (NI) and pension contributions from your own funds.
• Make sure your data is right

It is important that you provide all the data HMRC need to process your claim. Payment of your grant may be at risk or delayed if you submit a claim that is incomplete or incorrect, so we want to help you get this right. We have an accurate claim calculator so please talk to us if you need any help.

Please note that the link to the Government's article for this section was removed on the 12th January 2022 as it was no longer accessible.

Find Out Which Employees You Can Put Through Furlough And Claim For Through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

For further detailed guidance on the CJRS click here.

2. If You've Claimed Too Much Or Not Enough From The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

The Government has updated its guidance if an employer has claimed too much or not enough from the CJRS.

If you have claimed too much

If you want to delete a claim in the online service, you must do this within 72 hours. If you have made an error in a claim that means you’ve received too much, you must pay this back to HMRC. You can either:

• Tell HMRC as part of your next online claim (your new claim will be reduced and you’ll need to keep a record of the adjustment for 6 years)
• Contact HMRC to pay the money back (you should only do this if you’re not submitting another claim)

If you’ve overclaimed a grant and have not repaid it, you must notify HMRC by the latest of either:

• 90 days after the date you received the grant you were not entitled to
• 90 days after the date you received the grant that you were no longer entitled to keep because your circumstances changed
• 20 October 2020

If you do not do this, you may have to pay a penalty. If you do repay any overclaimed grant, this will prevent any potential tax liability in respect of the overpayment of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. We will not be actively looking for innocent errors in our compliance approach.

If you have not claimed enough

If you made an error in your claim that has resulted in receiving too little money, you will still need to make sure you pay your employees the correct amount. You should contact HMRC to amend your claim and as you are increasing the amount of your claim and they may need to conduct additional checks.

Before 31 July, you should have:

• Made sure you included all eligible employees on claims that you still needed to make for periods up to 30 June
• Made any updates you needed to on claims you had already made

From 31 July, you are:

• Now no longer able to add an employee to any existing claims for periods up to 30 June, that should have been included on a claim submitted before that date
• Still able to make amendments for any other errors that resulted in you not claiming enough

Please click here to find out more.

3. Working Safely During COVID-19

This guidance again changes regularly and applies to England.

England: These 14 guides cover a range of different types of work. Many businesses operate more than one type of workplace, such as an office, factory and fleet of vehicles. You may need to use more than one of these guides as you think through what you need to do to keep people safe. Further guidance will be published as more businesses are able to reopen.

Please click here to find out more.

4. SEISS: Self Employed Can Benefit From Second Stage Grant

Self-employed people whose livelihoods have been affected by coronavirus will be able to claim a second payment of up to £6,570 from 17 August.

Those eligible will now be able to receive a second and final grant worth 70% of their average monthly trading profits, with the money set to land in their bank accounts within six working days of making a claim.

Anyone who's self-employed business has been adversely affected by coronavirus since 14 July is eligible for the scheme.

Please click here to find out more.

How HMRC Works Out Trading Profits and Non-Profit Trading Income For Self Employment Income Support Scheme

Find out how HMRC will work out your trading profits and non-trading income if you are self-employed or a member of a partnership and have been adversely affected by coronavirus (COVID-19).

Please click here to find out more.

5. Ask HMRC To Verify You Had A New Child Which Affected Your Eligibility For The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme

Use this form if you are self-employed or a member of a partnership, and having a new child affected the trading profits or total income you reported for the tax year 2018 to 2019.

Please click here to find out more.

6. How Different Circumstances Affect The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme

If you are self-employed or a member of a partnership, find out how your circumstances can affect your eligibility for the scheme.

Please click here to find out more.

7. Access To Work: Factsheet

Factsheet about Access to Work and how it can help overcome barriers to starting or keeping a job if you have a disability or long-term health condition.

Please click here to find out more.

8. Check If You Can Get Tax-Free Childcare & 30 Hours Free Childcare During Coronavirus

Find out about temporary changes that may affect you if you are applying for, or already getting, Tax-Free Childcare or 30 hours free childcare.

Please click here to find out more.

I know all of this information can be overwhelming so if you'd like me to explain any of the above, please don't hesitate to email me or call the office.

During COVID-19 I want to ensure that everyone is as up to date as possible with regards to Government changes and support that impacts businesses. Please note that this update is correct as of the date of sending (26th August 2020).