New laws surrounding breach of self-isolation

With new laws surrounding breach of self-isolation requirements now in force, organisations need to be aware if their employees are told to isolate.

From 28th September 2020, it became a legal requirement for employees to self-isolate if told to do so as a result of potential, or confirmed, coronavirus exposure. These can range from having symptoms, to being told they have a positive case of Covid-19, to coming back from a country listed by the government has having high infection rates.

Breaching these new ‘Self-Isolation Regulations’ can lead to individuals receiving significant fines, a liability that also extends to organisations. In a nutshell, if businesses are found to have breached these requirements, they will face a fixed penalty notice of £1,000, rising to £10,000 for fourth offenses and above. It is therefore crucial that organisations understand the law.

In the Regulations, if an organisation requires an employee to come into work despite them being told to self-isolate, they will have committed an offence. This extends not just to them attending the usual place of work, but any other place connected with work that is not the location in which they are self-isolating, ie their home. For example, if an employee is asked to visit a client on work-related purposes, or even a colleague, this would still be in breach of the Regulations despite any social distancing in place and their visit only being a short one. Whilst staff can be asked to work from home if they are well enough to do so, they must not be encouraged or told by an organisation to leave here for work-related purposes.

These provisions also extend to ‘knowingly’ allowing an employee to attend the workplace, in other words being aware they have been told to self-isolate but permitting them to come into work if they want to. However, the situation does get a little bit trickier if the organisation is not aware of their employee’s situation, and this employee then goes on to breach the rules. Whilst employees are expected under the Regulations to disclose this if they have to undertake work-related activities outside of the place they are self-isolating, the law is less clear on what happens if an organisation is not told, or if the message does not get through to management.

To this end, it is vital that organisations take these new Regulations into account and make sure they are adhering to them. Employees should be clearly informed what they are expected to do if they are told to self-isolate, including who they need to tell, when and how. It should also be made clear that, due to the importance of adhering to the Regulations, failure to follow this could result in disciplinary action.

Businesses required to close due to COVID restrictions to get extra support

In an extension to the Jobs Support Scheme, which is due to begin on 1st November 2020, The Chancellor has announced that businesses across the UK are to be given support if required to close their premises due to coronavirus restrictions.

Those legally required to shut for some period over winter as part of local or national restrictions will receive grants to pay the wages of staff who cannot work with the aim, the Chancellor explained, of protecting jobs and enabling businesses to reopen quickly once restrictions are lifted. Eligible businesses will see two-thirds of each employees’ salary (or 67%) paid by the Government up to a maximum of £2,100 a month.

‘The expansion of the Job Support Scheme will provide a safety net for businesses across the UK who are required to temporarily close their doors,’ Mr Sunak said, ‘giving them the right support at the right time.’

Under the revised scheme, organisations will not be required to contribute towards wages and will only be asked to cover National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and pension contributions. Businesses will only be eligible to claim the grant while they are subject to restrictions and employees must be off work for a minimum of seven consecutive days.

The scheme will be available for six months, with a review point in January. In line with the rest of the JSS, payments to businesses will be made in arrears, via an HMRC claims service that will be available from early December.

Employees of firms that have been legally closed in the period before 1st November are eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the Chancellor pointed out. As the scheme is UK wide, the UK Government has said that it will work with the devolved administrations to ensure the scheme operates effectively across all four nations.

As well as the expansion of the JSS described above, the Government is increasing the cash grants to businesses in England shut in local lockdowns to support with fixed costs. These grants will be linked to rateable values, with up to £3000 per month payable every two weeks, compared to the up to £1500 every three weeks which was available previously.

This could, the Treasury said, benefit hundreds of thousands of businesses, including restaurants, pubs, nightclubs and bowling alleys.

Claiming the Job Retention Bonus from February 2021

When the Chancellor announced his package of measures in July, he included a Job Retention Bonus. This is a £1000 one-off taxable payment to employers for each eligible employee that they furlough and keep continuously employed until 31 January 2021.

Now HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued guidance on the scheme which clarifies that employers will be able to claim the bonus between 15 February and 31 March 2021 and that they do not have to pay this money to the employee. Available here, this guide includes details of eligible employees, including those have been transferred under TUPE or due to a change in ownership.

It also confirms that it is possible to claim the Job Retention Bonus for individuals who are not employees, such as office holders or agency workers, as long as the employer claimed a grant for those people under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the other Job Retention Bonus eligibility criteria are met.

Among other details, the guide specifies that, to meet the minimum income threshold, an employer must pay the employee a total of at least £1560 (gross) throughout the tax months: 6 November to 5 December 2020; 6 December 2020 to 5 January 2021; and 6 January to 5 February 2021.

Only payments recorded as taxable pay will count towards the minimum income threshold. Taxable pay is reported to HMRC as a single figure through Full Payment Submissions via Real Time Information (RTI).