23/03/2020
Info for all our Clients.
Firstly, I want to reassure you that we are still here and will still be here working on your payrolls throughout these uncertain times. We are fortunate we work from home and do not have to travel or even come into contact with people.
We are all in unprecedented waters here.
We are only getting information from HMRC and the government as you get it. (Unfortunately, we don’t have a hotline to Boris 😊)
We will be checking the HMRC website daily and listening to the press conferences as they happen daily. Here is the link to HMRC about Covid-19 https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
This is the link for supporting businesses which most of you should look at. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/guidance-for-employers-and-businesses-on-coronavirus-covid-19
• This link lists the topics on
• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
• Deferring VAT
• SSP relief package
• 12-month business rates holiday
• Small business grants
• Grants for retail, hospitality and leisure
• Coronavirus Business interruption Loan
• New lending facility from the Bank of England
• HMRC TTP Scheme – Time to Pay (deference of HMRC payments)
In Brief – This is Our understanding
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
They are using what is called Furlough (Furlough is to grant leave of absence; it is mandatory time off work – this is typically with no pay which is why HMRC are offering to pay 80% up to a maximum of £2500 per employee per month.)
A Furloughed worker is an employee you have had to let go already or you are sending home because you have no work for them or the government has instructed your business to compulsory close. These are the people you can claim 80% of their pay for.
(You cannot claim for any employee who is still currently working for you (this includes people working from home), meaning you have not yet sent them home because you have no work. A lot of people are thinking this is for every employee, even those still working.)
This can be backdated to 1st March for anyone who was employed as at the 28th February and you have sent home or made them a leaver.
These funds will not be available for a few weeks yet until HMRC have sorted out how this will work and set up the portal. From what the website says you will submit the information to HMRC about the employee’s that have been furloughed along with their earnings through a new online portal. We understand that you still pay them at this time through the payroll and then you claim this back once the portal is set up. This must go through payroll because it is still taxable/niable/pensionable pay and part of an employee’s gross earnings to date. It will be the gross pay you claim back to a maximum of £2500 per month per employee.
If you have a cash flow issue currently the government are advising you speak to your bank in the interim. They also say you may be eligible for a Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan. This information is on the link above.
Please either let us know who you are classing as a furloughed employee or keep detailed records yourself. You do not have to pay a Furloughed employee the additional 20% but that is up to your discretion. I imagine details HMRC will want on the portal is what is the normal basic pay for employee X and how much have you paid. Please bear in mind when doing this, that HMRC get every employee’s gross earnings on a weekly/monthly basis through the RTI system (Real Time Information).
This is still all being talked about because the reports coming out today are that we could be going into Lockdown anytime soon. It depends what that lockdown is. In some European countries the initial lockdown still let people go to work. They then changed the lockdown, so no one went to work. It all depends on what the government do next.
Self-Isolating and SSP
If you have anyone that is self-isolating, then they can go onto SSP from day 1. It is up to your discretion if you want a fit note, but people are being advised not to visit their doctors. There is a link where people can go and get a note from NHS 111 online https://111.nhs.uk/isolation-note/
There are conflicting reports about an employee phoning 111. Some say do and some say don’t?
If you pay SSP for these weeks you can claim back the SSP you pay out for each employee. You can only claim once per employee.
If you have anyone that is self-isolating and you are paying them SSP can you please let us know who, how long they are off for (1 or two weeks), and the dates. We need to keep detailed notes for you so that when HMRC have issued how this is to be claimed back, we have all the information to hand.
We understand everyone wants answers, we are still working on current month/week payrolls and would ask you please seek the answers from the HMRC website before contacting us. All the information we have is from this website.
We hope you and your employee’s stay safe in these worrying times. We are here if you need to speak about any worries you have and we will help as much as we can. We are going to keep our page up to date each time we get any new information. Please check this out daily.
LPT Payroll Services Ltd Facebook link is https://bit.ly/2J5k6pF
Some other useful business-related information for you
Deferral of VAT payments
Any VAT payments falling due in the period 20 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 can be deferred until 31 March 2021. This assistance is automatic – you don’t need to apply to HMRC to access this assistance.
Business rates-related support
The following support is being made available via the business rates regime:
• Business rates holidays for next year (commencing 1 April 2020) for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors
• Cash grants of £25,000 or £10,000 for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors (dependent upon the rateable value of their premises)
• Cash grants of £10,000 for businesses that receive small business rate relief (SBRR)
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme
Commencing on Monday 23 March 2020, government-backed finance facilities will become available to businesses like yours. Facilities of up to £5 million can be applied for on attractive terms (interest free for the first 12 months), and 80% of the facility will be underwritten by the government. Traditional term loans and overdrafts will be offered, as well as invoice discounting and asset-backed finance facilities.
A business plan is likely to be required by the lender as part of the application; you should consider in detail the amount needed, and the rationale used in arriving at this amount.
The first port of call should be the required lender whom you wish to borrow from (these can be found via the link below)
https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme-cbils/
HMRC Time To Pay (TTP) service
If you believe that you might not be able to pay any taxes when they are due (e.g. corporation tax, PAYE/NI etc.), you can contact HMRC’s Time To Pay (TTP) service. They may be able to arrange for tax payments to be made over a period of time, rather than in entirety. You should ensure that any returns outlining the particular tax due are still filed on time; this will allow you and HMRC to quantify the amount of tax due, and to work out the repayment period. This service should be accessed BEFORE the deadline for the payment has passed.
Note that this services is IN ADDITION to the VAT/tax payment deferral mentioned above.
To access this assistance, please call HMRC on 0800 0159559; have the details of the amount due, and your tax reference number (e.g. VAT number, Unique Tax Reference number etc.) to hand. This call will need to be made by you – I have tried on a couple of occasions to speak to HMRC to arrange plans for a couple of clients, but on both occasions their response was that the client should call them directly.
Find out about the government response to coronavirus (COVID-19) and what you need to do.
