Covid related sick pay comes to an end

In line with the Government’s strategy to “live with Covid”, in England at least, many of the Covid restrictions (and support) have come, or are coming to, an end. February saw the end of the legal requirement to self-isolate and the need for face coverings, and now March brings the end of special SSP rules.

Since 13th March 2020, employees off work due to Covid, either because they themselves had it, had symptoms, or had contact with someone who did, have been paid statutory sick pay (SSP) from day one of their absence (subject to the absence being at least 4 days in length).

The SSP rebate scheme, originally opened in March 2020, closed 30th September 2021 and reopened between 21st December 2021 and 17th March 2022, enabled employers to claim back for up to two weeks of these SSP payments per employee, relieving some of the burden of forced isolation and absence from the business.

What’s happening from 24th March 2022?

SSP Rebate Scheme

This is the last day eligible employers can make or amend claims for SSP paid for Covid-related absences between 21st December 2021 and 17th March 2022. Failure to submit a claim by the end of 24th March will mean employers will not be able to claim the rebate.

End of Covid-related SSP provisions

A number of changes were made to SSP rules in light of the pandemic. These come to an end on 24th March 2022. These include:

  • payment from the first day of the absence
  • payment for isolating due to Covid, Covid symptoms or contact with Covid, when the individual is not actually unwell.

What does this mean for employers?

This puts employers in a tricky position. In England the legal requirement to self-isolate was scrapped on 24th February 2022. As such, they will need to decide what to pay employees whilst they are off work following the guidance. As SSP rules are applied across Great Britain, it remains to be seen what will be put in place in Wales and Scotland, as self-isolation in Wales does not end until 28th March 2022, and advice in Scotland is still to isolate.

For many, they can return to home working temporarily. For those that are left too unwell to work due to the virus, they will get whatever sick pay would normally be due. The biggest problems arise for those that cannot work from home, but are well enough to work. In this case, employers may choose to extend sick pay to these people to reduce the risk of Covid transmission in the workplace.

Workers in England no longer told to work from home

Government announces workers in England no longer told to work from home

What are the current Plan B rules?

There are 3 key measures under the government’s current Plan B restrictions:

  • Compulsory face coverings in most indoor public places
  • Advice to work from home where possible
  • Mandatory Covid passes for entry into nightclubs and large events (e.g. football matches)

These restrictions were set to expire on 26 January 2022.

What has changed?

The government announced a Covid update this afternoon – these changes apply in England only.

The guidance to work from home will be removed from today, 19 January 2022.

From 27 January 2022, the legal requirement to wear a mask in public places will be removed – although they will still be recommended in some places. Boris Johnson intends to trust the British people to make the right choices.

Also from 27 January 2022, the use of Covid passes will no longer be mandatory but businesses can choose to use them if they want to.

From tomorrow, 20 January 2022, children don’t have to wear face masks in classrooms.

A long-term strategy on living with Covid will be set out in the coming weeks.

Are any Plan B measures staying?

There will still be a legal requirement to self-isolate if you test positive for Covid.

Self-isolation rules are due to expire on 24 March 2022 – the government doesn’t expect to renew these and the expiry date may be brought forward if the data supports this.

What does this mean for employers right now?

Employers should update their employees and prepare their workforce for their return.

A risk assessment should be completed to ensure all necessary Covid-secure measures are in place – e.g. one-way systems, hand sanitizers, screens/barriers, regular cleaning, social distancing, mask wearing reminders etc.

Many employers will have already gone through the process (sometimes multiple times) of sending staff home then welcoming them back to the workplace.

Where employers have already completed such processes, it may be useful to assess what worked well and what didn’t previously. Reflective exercises can ensure effective measures are put in place this time round to make the return a success.

Employers should have supportive conversations with any employees who are hesitant about returning to the office.

Reasonable adjustments (e.g. temporary hybrid arrangements to phase return to full-time office working) can go a long way in ensuring employees feel comfortable and supported.

Allowing flexibility at this stage can minimise absence levels, staff turnover and protect motivation, satisfaction and productivity rates later down the line.

Where employees unreasonably refuse to return to the workplace, employers may be able to treat this as a failure to follow reasonable management instructions and manage it as a normal conduct issue but they should first adopt a supportive tone, to see what is causing the hesitancy and if there is a way the employee and employer can work together to reach a conclusion which is beneficial for all.

Employers in England may be getting a strong feeling of déjà vu after the announcements on 8th December 2021 that bring back some Covid restrictions once again. It was confirmed that the Government’s Plan B, first announced in September as the stricter measures that would be implemented if needed, will be phased in from Friday 10th December 2021. This is as a result of recent data regarding the Omicron variant, which is quickly spreading throughout the UK.

The following changes will be implemented:

From Friday 10th December, masks must be worn in most public venues, including theatres and cinemas, unless someone is medically exempt. This will not apply in premises where people are eating or exercising (such as gyms or nightclubs).

From Monday 13th December, guidance to work from home wherever this is possible will be reintroduced.

By Wednesday 15th December, Covid passes will become mandatory for nightclubs, unseated indoor venues with more than 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with more than 5000 people and any venue with more than 10,000 people.

Two doses will be sufficient for a Covid pass, as will a negative lateral flow test but this requirement will be kept under review as the booster programme is rolled out.

Whilst employers are likely to be used to swiftly facilitating homeworking now, each instance still comes with its challenges. Employees who don’t have an adequate environment to work in at home due to lack of space or robust internet connection, for example, may struggle to be productive, and others may fear that their mental health will decline after having experienced a similar impact during previous enforced homeworking periods. Employers will need to spend time dealing with individual circumstances to make it work as best it can, and provide support and assistance to those who need it.

Those who can’t work from home, such as supermarket staff, must be sufficiently protected in work amidst heightened Covid spread and news of new variants that are less effected by current vaccines. Some employers, on the other hand, who were able to embrace homeworking fully and didn’t return their staff to the workplace once it was permitted again, will not feel substantial impact by this latest move, however, may still be affected as their supply lines from other companies adjust again to working at a distance.

Coronavirus Vaccinations and the workplace

New research by Acas has found that a quarter of British employers have not been giving their staff paid time off for Covid-19 vaccinations and have no plans to do so in the future.

Furthermore, a similar percentage are refusing to provide full company sick pay to staff who are off work sick due to vaccine side effects.

On the plus side, the arbitration service found that 59% have been giving staff paid time off while 4% have not been doing it but plan to do so.

Its advice is that employers should support staff to get the vaccine once it is offered to them. This support could include ensuring employees have paid time off for Covid-19 vaccine reasons.

Acas Chief Executive Susan Clews said: “It’s in businesses best interests to have a vaccine policy that supports staff to take time off as fully vaccinated workers are less likely to need longer periods of time off work to recover from Covid-19.”

To support staff to get the vaccine, Acas advice is that employers may want to consider paid time off for vaccination appointments and paying staff their usual rate of pay if they are off sick with vaccine side effects.

While some organisations may have a review or ‘trigger’ point to keep track of sickness absence for their staff, employers could consider not counting vaccine-related time off sick as part of this absence record system, Acas suggests.

Should digital Right to work checks continue permanently?

Over 300,000 people a week could have been delayed in starting work if the Home Office had refused to allow Right to Work (RTW) checks to be conducted digitally now that the final stage of unlocking has been delayed.

This warning came from REC (the Recruitment and Employment Confederation) and refers to the fact that, since 30 March 2020, digital RTW checks have allowed employers to hire new staff without having to meet them in person to check documents.

This system has, the Confederation argues, kept people safe, saved companies time and resources during the pandemic and helped to slow the spread of Covid-19. It also levelled the playing field between UK and foreign nationals by allowing digital checks for both, rather than just for foreign nationals.

The Home Office seems to have agreed as it has now announced that digital right to work checks will be extended until the end of August.

It was, it said, “reviewing whether there are changes we can make to the right to work scheme to increase the digital checking aspects, including through the use of specialist technologies”.

The REC was quite clear what those changes should be with Chief Executive Neil Carberry welcoming the new concession but arguing that the next logical step should be a move to a permanent digital system.

“It makes no sense for Government to shoot themselves in the foot and return to mandating in-person checks when the use of digital checks has been a success story of the pandemic,” Deputy CEO Kate Shoesmith said.

She also highlighted the contradiction of the Government seeking to return to mandating in-person checks for UK nationals, thereby disadvantaging UK jobseekers in the labour market, while also trying to incentivise employers to not rely on workers from abroad.

July furlough changes – what you need to know

A brief reminder of the changes to the structure of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough scheme) from 1st July 2021.

By designating employees as “furloughed”, organisations have been able to recover a portion of employee wage costs up to a £2,500 cap. As confirmed by the Government Budget delivered on 3rd March 2021, the scheme will continue to operate until the end of September 2021 with some adjustment to funding levels from July 2021.

Until the end of June 2021, the grant was 80% to a maximum of £2,500 per employee per month for hours unworked. Employees on full furlough (not working any hours at all), got 80% of their wages per month unless their employer decides to top it up to 100%. Where an employee is on flexible furlough (working only some hours), they were paid in full by their employer for the hours they work and the grant will cover 80% of pay for their unworked hours only, subject to a cap which will be less than £2500.

Now into July, for 1st July 2021, the Government’s grant will reduce to 70% of furloughed employees’ wage costs for their unworked hours at a cap of £2,187.50. Pay for furloughed employees must remain at a minimum of 80% at a cap of £2,500 which means that organisations must contribute 10% up to £312.50 from their own pocket. Further changes continue into August.

From 1st August 2021 until the scheme ends, the Government’s grant will reduce a final time to 60% of furloughed employees’ wages for their unworked hours at a cap of £1,875. With the 80% rule still intact, organisations will need to contribute 20% to staff wages up to £625. Therefore, from July through to the end of September, organisations will have to cover a portion of the employee’s actual wages, as well as the national insurance and pension contributions.

The furlough scheme has been somewhat of a saving grace for a lot of organisations whilst lockdown restrictions have been in place. As these restrictions are slowly eased, based on coronavirus data, organisations may find that they no longer need to make use of the scheme, or it may be that flexible furlough takes centre stage. Either way, organisations will need to consider how they can accommodate the upcoming changes with redundancy as a last resort.

End of virtual right to work checks postponed

We previously published the below article on virtual right to work checks, outlining plans for them to come to an end on 21st June 2021. However, the government has since confirmed that this will be delayed until 31st August 2021. Please read below for more information.

As a result of the pandemic, last year the government made it possible for organisations to conduct right to work changes virtually on a temporary basis. This is now due to end on 31st August 2021. 

What are right to work checks?

To ascertain whether an individual originally from overseas (including the EU) has the right to work in the UK, and to prevent illegal working, organisations should carry out right to work checks. In normal times, there are three steps they must complete. These are:

  • obtain original right to work documents (such as a passport) from the individual
  • check the validity and authenticity of the documents in the presence of the individual
  • copy the documents and keep a secure, dated copy which includes the date for follow-up checks.

Alternatively, from 29th January 2019, organisations can use the Home Office’s online right to work checking service to carry out immigration checks.

What changed due to the pandemic?

In 2020, the government changed the right to work checking process so that organisations did not need to meet with staff directly. Under this temporary system, a scanned copy or photograph of documents necessary to prove a right to work should be sent to the organisation via an email or mobile app.

A video call is then arranged with the worker, where they are asked to present their original documents to the camera. These documents are then compared with the digital versions previously sent. The date of this check is recorded and noted as ‘adjusted check undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19’.

Previously, it was expected that organisations would need to carry out a retrospective check through the usual method outlined above once this temporary option was stopped, however the government has since confirmed that this will no longer be the case.

What’s happening from 31st August 2021?

The temporary provision to conduct these checks virtually is to be discontinued from 31 August onwards (previously 17th May then 21st June), meaning that, generally, in-person checks will need to be conducted. Whilst video calls will still be permitted for this, a crucial difference is that the organisation will need to be sent the original versions of the important documents, not copies, which may cause inconvenience for the employees in question.

The change to this guidance originally caused confusion for organisations due to the fact that working from home guidance is not changing. Currently, it is expected that, at least in England, staff will continue to be encouraged to work from home if they can until at least 19th July 2021. This reversion to the usual right to work checking process prior to this date therefore did seem to go against this as it would have resulted in more direct, in-person contact between organisations and their employees.

New right to work checking system expected

It should be remembered that a new right to work checking system is currently expected to come into force from 1st July 2021 due to Brexit, as this is when the grace period between the UK and the EU comes to an end. The government has yet to confirm what this will involve.

End of virtual right to work checks postponed

Last week, we published the below article on virtual right to work checks, outlining plans for them to come to an end on 17th May 2021. However, the government have since confirmed that this will be delayed until 21st June 2021. Please read below for more. 

As a result of the pandemic, last year the government made it possible for organisations to conduct right to work changes virtually on a temporary basis. This is now due to end on 21st June 2021. 

What are right to work checks?

To ascertain whether an individual originally from overseas (including the EU) has the right to work in the UK, and to prevent illegal working, organisations should carry out right to work checks. In normal times, there are three steps they must complete. These are:

  • obtain original right to work documents (such as a passport) from the individual
  • check the validity and authenticity of the documents in the presence of the individual
  • copy the documents and keep a secure, dated copy which includes the date for follow-up checks.

Alternatively, from 29th January 2019, organisations can use the Home Office’s online right to work checking service to carry out immigration checks.

What changed due to the pandemic?

In 2020, the government changed the right to work checking process so that organisations did not need to meet with staff directly. Under this temporary system, a scanned copy or photograph of documents necessary to prove a right to work should be sent to the organisation via an email or mobile app.

A video call is then arranged with the worker, where they are asked to present their original documents to the camera. These documents are then compared with the digital versions previously sent. The date of this check is recorded and noted as ‘adjusted check undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19’.

Previously, it was expected that organisations would need to carry out a retrospective check through the usual method outlined above once this temporary option was stopped, however the government has since confirmed that this will no longer be the case.

What’s happening from 21st June 2021?

The temporary provision to conduct these checks virtually is to be discontinued from 21st June onwards (previously 17th May), meaning that, generally, in-person checks will need to be conducted. Whilst video calls will still be permitted for this, a crucial difference is that the organisation will need to be sent the original versions of the important documents, not copies, which may cause inconvenience for the employees in question.

The change to this guidance originally caused confusion for organisations due to the fact that working from home guidance is not changing. Currently, it is expected that, at least in England, staff will continue to be encouraged to work from home if they can until at least 21st June 2021. This reversion to the usual right to work checking process prior to this date therefore did seem to go against this as it would have resulted in more direct, in-person contact between organisations and their employees.

In response, a number of industry bodies contacted Home Secretary Priti Patel, asking her to reconsider the change. It has since been confirmed that the change will be pushed back to 21st June 2021.

New right to work checking system expected

It should be remembered that a new right to work checking system is currently expected to come into force from 1st July 2021 due to Brexit, as this is when the grace period between the UK and the EU comes to an end. The government has yet to confirm what this will involve.

Virtual right to work checks to end from 17th May 2021

As a result of the pandemic, last year the government made it possible for organisations to conduct right to work changes virtually on a temporary basis. This is due to end this month.

What are right to work checks?

To ascertain whether an individual originally from overseas (including the EU) has the right to work in the UK, and to prevent illegal working, organisations should carry out right to work checks. In normal times, there are three steps they must complete. These are:

  • obtain original right to work documents (such as a passport) from the individual
  • check the validity and authenticity of the documents in the presence of the individual
  • copy the documents and keep a secure, dated copy which includes the date for follow-up checks.

Alternatively, from 29th January 2019, organisations can use the Home Office’s online right to work checking service to carry out immigration checks.

What changed due to the pandemic?

In 2020, the government changed the right to work checking process so that organisations did not need to meet with staff directly. Under this temporary system, a scanned copy or photograph of documents necessary to prove a right to work should be sent to the organisation via an email or mobile app.

A video call is then arranged with the worker, where they are asked to present their original documents to the camera. These documents are then compared with the digital versions previously sent. The date of this check is recorded and noted as ‘adjusted check undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19’.

Previously, it was expected that organisations would need to carry out a retrospective check through the usual method outlined above once this temporary option was stopped, however the government has since confirmed that this will no longer be the case.

What’s happening from 17th May 2021?

The temporary provision to conduct these checks virtually is to be discontinued from 17th May onwards, meaning that, generally, in-person checks will need to be conducted. Whilst video calls will still be permitted for this, a crucial difference is that the organisation will need to be sent the original versions of the important documents, not copies, which may cause inconvenience for the employees in question.

The change to this guidance has caused confusion for organisations due to the fact that working from home guidance is not changing. Currently, it is expected that, at least in England, staff will continue to be encouraged to work from home if they can until at least 21st June 2021. This reversion to the usual right to work checking process therefore does seem to go against this as it will result in more direct, in-person contact between organisations and their employees.

To this end, a number of industry bodies have contacted Home Secretary Priti Patel, asking her to reconsider the change. However, the government have so far not deviated from this and organisations will need to prepare for the change.

New right to work checking system expected

It should be remembered that a new right to work checking system is currently expected to come into force from 1st July 2021 due to Brexit, as this is when the grace period between the UK and the EU comes to an end. The government has yet to confirm what this will involve.

Changes to the Furlough Scheme

From 1st May, there are to be a number of changes to how the Job Retention Scheme works. 

Eligibility for being furloughed

Currently, employees cannot be furloughed if they were not employed past 30th October 2020, and even then a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission must have been made to HMRC between 20th March 2020 and 30th October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee.

This is to change. For pay periods that start on or after 1st May 2021, employees who were employed on 2nd March 2021 can be furloughed, provided the organisation has made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC between 20th March 2020 and 2nd March 2021, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee. The shift in eligibility from 1st May 2021 onwards was confirmed in Government guidance on 3rd March 2021, presumably as a result of the extension of the JRS until the end of September 2021.

The knock-on impact of this is that organisations will be granted much more flexibility in furlough decisions in the future; they will be able to furlough those who were recruited between 31st October 2020 and 2nd March 2021, meaning the scope for furloughing staff is going to be wider.

Organisations will not have to have previously claimed for an employee before 2nd March 2021 to claim for periods from starting on or after 1st May 2021

Calculating claims for periods staring on or after 1st May 2021

Due to the change in eligibility highlighted above, the government is outlining updated guidance on how to calculate furlough pay.

It should be remembered that the government will still provide 80% of furloughed staff wages for the time they are not working in May and June 2021. They are not due to start reducing the amount they provide until 1st July 2021.

Claiming for staff previously made redundant

For periods beginning on or after 1st May 2021, organisations will no longer be able to furlough staff that were previously made redundant.

Furlough after TUPE

From 1st May 2021, organisations are able to furlough employees if they were included on a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC on or before 2nd March 2021.