All Tax and legislation articles – Page 22
-
OpinionCaroline Harwood: Tax implications of Christmas parties during Covid-19
As we are now well into autumn, and Christmas decorations start making their way into shops, employers may have started to think about their annual Christmas party; but this year, it is different.With Covid-19 (Coronavirus) restrictions likely to be in place until Christmas in some shape or form, employers will ...
-
OpinionJeremy Harris: Pension entitlements under the Job Support Scheme
In September 2020, the government announced the replacement to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, replacing it with the Job Support Scheme (JSS). This scheme came with very mixed reactions, particularly businesses wondering what the actual incentive is to pay employees for a third of their work and also contribute to ...
-
ArticleGovernment expands Job Support Scheme to support staff affected by Covid-19 restrictions
The government has expanded the Job Support Scheme to support businesses who are forced to close due to Covid-19 (Coronavirus) restrictions.The Job Support Scheme is the government's most recent attempt to support employees who are working reduced hours and prevent mass redundancies due to the financial constraints of businesses. The ...
-
OpinionKathryn Barnes: Returning to work on good terms
Many employees are living through profound and possibly permanent changes in workplace culture, processes and conditions. The situation for traditional office-based work remains difficult to predict. While the office culture many of us know is not disappearing entirely, neither is it likely to return in full to pre-pandemic levels.Employers and ...
-
ArticleGovernment publishes new guidance on Job Retention Bonus
The government has published further guidance on the Job Retention Bonus, originally announced in July 2020.The scheme, which has been introduced to support employees throughout the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, gives organisations an incentive to bring back as many employees as possible from furlough.The new guidance has released information on what ...
-
ArticleUK government to top up wages of staff working reduced hours
The UK government is to top up the pay of employees working reduced hours in order to support staff and businesses dealing with the financial impact of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.The Job Support Scheme, which was announced by Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 24 September 2020, will give ...
-
ArticleIskander Fernandez: How can employers ensure applications avoid furlough fraud investigation
The instability brought about by the pandemic, resultant lockdown and recession, has provided a climate that has unfortunately fuelled fraudulent behaviour, which usually results when three components are present: opportunity, incentive and rationalisation. It is therefore unsurprising that some individuals and businesses have sought to take advantage of the scheme.There ...
-
ArticleThree social care agencies ordered to pay homecare workers £100,000 in back pay
Social care agencies Kammil Education, Diligent Care Services and Premier Carewaiting have been ordered to pay homecare workers over £100,000 in back wages, after they were found to be breaching wage rules by an employment tribunal.In 2016, the 10 care workers, who were represented by trade union Unison, argued that ...
-
OpinionAlastair Currie: How to support employees making the return to work
Owing to the pandemic, according to figures by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), an estimated 7.5 million UK jobs were put on furlough between 20 April and 10 May 2020, with that figure coming close to almost a quarter of the British population.Organisations need to be particularly sensitive when ...
-
OpinionIskander Fernandez: Will furlough fraud be the next big scandal?
The furlough scheme has provided vital respite for UK firms struggling to pay wages as a result of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, currently accounting for up to 80% of an employee’s wages, to a cap of £2,500 a month.However, wherever there is a complex system, there are loopholes, and some may ...
-
ArticleGerman government extends Covid-19 pay scheme
The German government has extended its short-term allowance scheme until the end of 2021 to further support employees during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.The wage scheme, known as 'short-time work' or 'Kurzarbeit' in German, set to end at the end of March 2021, however, due to the ongoing spike of Coronavirus ...
-
ArticleCalifornia Court of Appeals grants Uber and Lyft extension over ruling
The California Court of Appeal has granted US ridesharing businesses Uber and Lyft an extension to classify their drivers as employees during the appeal process in its ongoing court case.On 10 August 2020, the superior court of the state of California, ruled that over 750,000 Uber drivers and over 1.4 ...
-
OpinionThomas Clark: How share-based incentives can help retain and motivate key staff
As the economic fallout from Covid-19 (Coronavirus) becomes ever clearer, it is important businesses are aware of all the tools at their disposal that can help them survive these difficult times. One tool that has slipped under the radar and deserves greater recognition is share-based incentives. Share schemes help retain ...
-
OpinionCacy-Leigh Neilson: The end of the furlough scheme
Significant job losses and business closures are on the horizon as the end of the furlough scheme fast approaches. It is imperative that businesses consider their ability to continue to employ and pay staff now and in the coming months, which, no doubt, will become particularly precarious when the government ...
-
ArticleUS Supreme Court rules Uber and Lyft must classify drivers as employees
US ridesharing organisations Lyft and Uber will have to identify all drivers as employees and not independent contractors, following on from a ruling by the superior court of the state of CaliforniaThe court ruled that over 750,000 Uber drivers and over 1.4 million Lyft drivers have been misclassified as independent ...
-
ArticleGovernment extends pensions tax allowance deadline for NHS staff to March 2021
The government is giving NHS employees an extension on their pension scheme allowance liabilities for tax bills relating to 2018/19.NHS employees will now have until March 2021 to submit to the voluntary NHS pension scheme, an additional five months on top of the original three month extension. In May 2020, ...
-
ArticleGovernment publishes further details of the job retention bonus
The government has published further details of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) bonus, providing more clarity on eligibility requirements.In the statement, it reconfirmed that employers will receive a one-off bonus of £1,000 for every employee who is brought back from furlough, if they remain at the business until the ...
-
ArticleFurloughed employees to receive full pay if made redundant
Furloughed employees that have been made redundant will receive redundancy pay based on their full normal pay, under a new law passed on 30 July 2020.This will protect employees financially, ensuring that they will receive a full pay package upon being made redundant rather than the wages that they received ...
-
ArticleHMRC to investigate businesses exploiting furlough scheme
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will begin to investigate businesses that it suspects are abusing the government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).Its investigations will determine whether employers are fraudulently claiming payments under the furlough scheme while returning employees to work. This will sit alongside new legislation giving organisations a 90-day ...
-
OpinionMichal Izak: How employers are preparing for further waves of Covid-19
It is not always easy to decouple employers’ response to the ongoing Covid-19 (Coronavirus) crisis from their long-term planning in case the situation aggravates. However, many employers are putting in place three main measures, or combinations thereof, to be insulated from the direct effects of a potential second wave of ...