Reopening guidance for the Hospitality Sector

Following the long-awaited announcement that businesses in the hospitality sector can prepare to reopen from 4 July 2020, the government has published lengthy guidance to address safe working within the 'visitor economy' during coronavirus.

In terms of what is meant by 'visitor economy' the guidance is expressly aimed at hotels and guest accommodation, indoor and outdoor attractions as well as business events and consumer shows.

Jobs, jobs, Jobs measures proposed by Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak has today addressed the House of Commons with his plan to kickstart the UK economy again and protect the jobs of workers.

The measures proposed include:

• Bonuses for businesses that bring back furloughed workers
• Kick-Start scheme for young employees
• Bonuses for businesses who hire apprentices

Recent Webinars

We have recently hosted a number of different webinars including:

• Future of Furlough Webinar
• Construction Sector Q&A Session
• Health & Safety Q&A Session
• Agile Working Webinar

If you missed them don't worry you can catch up and watch the recorded sessions here.

We also have a number of upcoming events please click here to find out more

Mock Employment Tribunal

Join us on the 8 September at 9.30am - 11am for an exclusive mock Tribunal session, the first in the country, looking at an Employment Tribunal case arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This online interactive session will recreate an Employment Tribunal hearing, focusing on an alleged unlawful furlough process, together with Health & Safety concerns raised by an Employee forced to return to work during the pandemic.

To book your place, please click here.

What steps have you taken to ensure that your business is safe for employees to return?

Have you gone far enough in regards to your obligations under the Equality Act 2010?

There is no doubt that over the last quarter of the year you have lost sleep wondering if your business will survive the worldwide pandemic brought on by the spread of covid-19. The Government recently announced relaxation of the nationwide lockdown, partly to enable businesses to begin re-opening, in an attempt to save the UK's economy.

Manufacturers adapting to new working practices in the face of Covid-19 and the introduction of flexible furlough

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep across the country and beyond, businesses in the manufacturing sector have faced significant operational challenges.

Flexible Furlough Scheme - Changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme from 1 July 2020

Key points to note:

• FFS can be implemented from 1 July 2020.
• 31 July is the last date that claims can be submitted for June 2020 - unless employees are returning from a period of statutory leave such as maternity, paternity etc.
• A single claim is capped by the maximum number of employees claimed for up to 30 June 2020.

Furlough extension: parents returning from leave will be eligible for furlough under the CJRS

On 29 May 2020, the Chancellor announced further updates to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ("Scheme") which included a cut-off date of 30 June 2020 for new furlough applications. For further details of the updates announced last month, please see our briefing summarising the changes to the Scheme.

Audit of Furlough Arrangements – Have you got it right?

Over the last few weeks we have produced a significant amount of guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the process and requirements for furloughing staff. The Government guidance has been changed several times and has been quite contradictory in part. The claims portal has now opened and hundreds of thousands of businesses have submitted claims for their furloughed staff.   

We understand it is HMRC’s intention to pay out all of the properly submitted claims immediately, but will then retrospectively audit a large number of these claims. If businesses are found to not hold the proper paperwork, do not have adequate justification for furloughing, or have calculated the claim incorrectly HMRC will seek to recover the payments. 

Given that one of the requirements is to hold paperwork relating to these claims for 5 years, they appear to be anticipating the audit process will take a considerable amount of time. Businesses therefore need to ensure that they are ready for this audit now and remedy any potential issues whilst the employees remain furloughed.

Forbes are offering a fixed fee audit of your furlough arrangements to ensure they are compliant with the legislation and current guidance. We will advise you on any areas which need addressing, potential issues with your claims and we can provide a pre-prepared report to provide to HMRC in respect of these payments, should you be audited.

Please contact Amy Stokes on 0333 2071157 or email amy.stokes@forbessolicitors.co.uk.

Agile working toolkit

We have developed an agile working toolkit which includes the below:

• Contractual clauses suitable for agile working* (clauses to be provided as a template only – not a review of existing)
• Homeworking policy (template)
• Data Protection Impact Assessment (template)
• The cost of the toolkit is £350 plus VAT or free if you are a HR Complete/In-House HR client.

To request further information please email Abigail at Abigail.lynch@forbessolicitors.co.uk.