Covid-19 update 30 March
The following information is current as at 9:00 am on Monday 30 March.
The UK Government is continuing to provide daily updates and publications on their measures to deal with the disruptions caused by COVID-19. The updates over the weekend were around health guidance however there was publication of smaller business measures and some further clarification on previously announced measures. There have been updates on the Job Retention Scheme (Furloughing), Guidance for Landlord and Tenants, Employees Annual Leave and Annual Inspection for Tank Vehicles.
Useful links to UK Government guidance and our previous updates can be found at the end of this article.
Job Retention Scheme (Furloughing)
The UK Government has issued further guidance on the Job Retention Scheme. The updated guidance provides detail on:
- Who can make a claim.
- Which employees a claim can be made for. This includes guidance on instances where employees are on unpaid leave, on Statutory Sick Pay, have more than one job, does volunteer work or training and are on Maternity Leave, Contractual Adoption Pay, Paternity Pay or Shared Parental Pay.
- What you can claim. This includes guidance on what can be claimed for salaried employees (both full time and part time) and employees whose pay varies. It also includes guidance on what claim can be made against Employers National Insurance and Pension Contributions.
- What information you will need to make a claim.
- The claim and the repayment.
The guidance can be found here.
Guidance for Landlord and Tenants
The UK Government has provided a detailed Q&A for landlords and tenants. This is following the announcement last week of the postponement of eviction of tenants who have been impacted by COVID-19.
The Q&A can been found here.
Technical guidance on eviction notices alongside the Q&A can be found here.
Employees Annual Leave
The UK Government has amended regulations to allow annual leave to be carried into the next 2 years where employees have not taken all their statutory annual leave entitlement due to COVID-19.
Currently, almost all employees are entitled to 28 days holiday including bank holidays each year. However, most of this entitlement cannot be carried between leave years, meaning employees lose their holiday if they do not take it. There is also an obligation on employers to ensure their employees take their statutory entitlement in any one year. Failure to do so could result in a financial penalty.
The guidance can be found here.
Annual Inspection for Tank Vehicles
The UK Government has announced that vehicle operators running EX, FL and AT vehicles and MEMUs, who’s vehicle(s) are due their annual roadworthiness test will have their certificate extended whilst DVSA are unable to carry out tests and annual ADR technical inspections due to COVID-19. This means that vehicles without a valid ADR 1(C) certificate can continue to run in the short term.
Before continuing to run vehicles without valid certificates vehicle operators should contact DVSA to ensure their vehicle(s) apply.
The guidance can be found here.
Links
Our previous updates can be found on Facebook and LinkedIn or on our website blog.
A UK Government business support website can be found here. It contains guidance on all Coronavirus financial measures and business advice.
A UK Government general COVID-19 support website can be found here. It contains guidance on all matters pertaining to the Coronavirus.
We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you informed. If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Like you we are doing our best to deal with the situation, and we must all pull together to see this through.
