| HR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
Jackie Le Poidevin, Editor-in-Chief, HR Adviser |
Discover the New Fit Note Rules Now in Force
On 1 July, new legislation came into force allowing a wider range of healthcare professionals to certify fit notes. The aim is to reduce red tape for doctors and make the process of obtaining a fit note and getting advice on returning to work easier and more effective. Here, we look at what you need to know about the changes.
Who Can Now Issue Fit Notes?
In addition to doctors, the following people are now all legally able to certify fit notes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland:
- A registered nurse.
- A registered occupational therapist.
- A registered physiotherapist.
- A registered pharmacist.
The individual must be suitably experienced and qualified, and will only certify and issue fit notes if they have the relevant training and knowledge to assess someone’s fitness to work.
People can’t simply walk into a high-street chemist and request a fit note. Only appropriately qualified pharmacists who work in a general practice or hospital setting can assess an individual’s fitness for work and issue a fit note.
Why the Change is being Made
GPs are currently very stretched, so a key aim of this change is to reduce pressure on them. It should also result in fewer delays to fit notes being issued.
The idea is that employees can now see the most relevant healthcare professional for their condition, such as a specialist mental health nurse or physiotherapist. This will hopefully mean you start to receive more detailed advice on the fit note on how you can help the employee return to work than is often the case at the moment.
People who see a specialist will no longer need to make a separate appointment to get signed off work by their GP.
Has Anything Else Changed?
In April, the law was changed to remove the need for fit notes to be signed in ink. Healthcare professionals can now authorise fit notes digitally and either give the employee a printed copy or send it to them via SMS, e-mail, an app or another digital channel.
As not all GP practices’ IT systems support this yet, you must currently accept both the new version of the fit note – which the employee may not have as a paper copy – and the traditional version. The new version must include the name and job title of the healthcare professional who has issued it (but not their signature) – if it doesn’t have this, it won’t be valid. It will also contain a bar code, which you can scan using a QR code scanner so you can add it to your sickness records.
You can see samples of both types of fit note in the government’s online guidance, Getting the most out of the fit note: guidance for employers and line managers
What You Should Do Now
If you have any employees currently off sick who are late providing a fit note and say they are struggling to make an appointment with their GP, you could suggest they ring their surgery and check if anyone else can see them. You may also need to update your absence management policy if it specifically refers to employees having to obtain a fit note from their GP.
If you offer company sick pay, you should think whether you want to change your evidence requirements. If you’re concerned this change could make it easier for an employee to exaggerate their symptoms to someone who isn’t a qualified doctor, you might wish to retain the requirement for them to see their own GP for now. You could then review this once the new system has bedded in.
However, if you only pay statutory sick pay, you will need to accept fit notes issued by the wider group of healthcare professionals listed in the legislation.
| HEALTH & SAFETY
Michael Ellerby, Editorial Board Member, Health & Safety Adviser and Risk Assessment & Compliance |
Adopt this Best Practice Response to Spillages
Spillages can happen in most production businesses but some are worse than others and can lead to bigger consequences. Responses to spillages can vary from stopping it and cleaning it up, to leaving it to evaporate, to calling the emergency services. As a spillage can cause significant injuries to workers and others, it is important to deal with a spillage promptly and correctly.
Harm Caused by Spillages
Spillages can cause harm (and loss) in various ways, such as:
- Injuries due to a spilling accident following a spill (e.g. oil, water and other slip hazards if liquids are on the floor).
- Contact with a hazardous substance can cause harm (e.g. corrosive or toxic materials).
- Flammable liquids can result in fires (e.g. petrol, solvents, etc.).
- Production delays due to taking time and resource to deal with the spillage.
- Environmental damage (e.g. if chemicals leak into watercourses, etc.).
Plan Ahead
Being prepared for a spillage is crucial to how you deal with it. As part of your risk assessment process, consider how you would deal with accidental releases, such as leaks and spillages. It is much easier to deal with a problem if the right materials are available and people are trained in what to do with them. Ensure that the risks to the spillage response team have been evaluated, and that they are not put at undue risk.
Planning ahead can also reduce the likelihood or the severity of a spillage. Planning how substances are stored or transferred can go a long way to avoiding loss of containment. Secondary containment (such as bunding) may mitigate the consequences of a spillage, and tertiary containment (such as interceptor systems) can be important for reducing the environmental impact of larger spillages.
Spillage Response
If you have the potential for a spillage, training people to respond quickly and correctly may be crucial. This is similar to responding to an injury (with a First Aider) or a Fire (with Fire Wardens). The bigger and nastier the potential spillage, the more robust the response needs to be.
Some simple things to plan for in your response include:
- A simple spillage response procedure that people have been trained in.
- Speedy access to relevant safety information, such as the safety data sheet.
- Spillage response kit that is suitable for the size of potential spillages (25 litre drum, 205 litre drum, 1000 litre IBC, etc.).
- Provision of suitable PPE to protect those dealing with the spillage.
- Simple procedure such as a standard operating procedure or work instruction.
- Designated Spillage Response Co-ordinators who are trained to ensure that all aspects are considered such as teams to deal with the spillage, First Aid provision, fire fighting provision, liaison with the emergency services, etc.
- Disposal of the waste from the clearance.
- Learning from the spillage. This should be treated the same way as any serious accident – do an investigation and learn the lessons.
Simple Steps in Spillage Response
There are several approaches, and some may be more suitable to your business, but the main points to consider are:
- Assess the risk.
- Select PPE.
- Confine the spill.
- Stop the source.
- Evaluate the incident and implement clean-up.
- Decontaminate the site.
- Complete required report.
- Learn the lessons.
| PAYROLL
Sarah Bradford, Editor-in-Chief, Pay & Benefits Adviser |
Remember to Pay Your Class 1A NICs On Time!
If you provided taxable benefits and expenses to employees in the 2021/22 tax year, you will need to pay Class 1A National Insurance contributions on those benefits. The liability, which is an employer-only liability, arises regardless of whether you opted to payroll those benefits, or your reported them to HMRC on form P11D.
However, if you have chosen to meet the tax on any benefit provided to employees in 2021/22 by including the benefit in a PAYE Settlement Agreement, you will pay Class 1B National Insurance contributions, rather than Class 1A.
Nature of Class 1A National Insurance Contributions
Class 1A National Insurance contributions are payable by the employer only on the taxable value of benefits in kind, and also on taxable termination payments in excess of the £30,000 tax-free threshold and on sporting testimonials in excess of the £100,000 tax-free limit. Employees do not pay Class 1A National Insurance contributions.
Class 1A National Insurance contributions on termination payments and sporting testimonial are reported through real time information and paid to HMRC with Class 1 National Insurance contributions and tax for the month in which the termination payment or sporting testimonial is paid.
However, Class 1A National Insurance contributions on benefits in kind are notified to HMRC on form P11D(b); the P11D(b) for 2021/22 was due to HMRC by 6 July 2022. Class 1A contributions for 2021/22 are due at the 2021/22 Class 1A rate of 13.8%.
Payment Deadline
The deadline for paying Class 1A National Insurance contributions on benefits in kind provided to employees in the 2021/22 tax year is 22 July 2022 where payment is made electronically. An earlier deadline of 19 July 2022 applies if the payment is made by cheque.
Payment Reference
It is important that the correct payment reference is used when paying Class 1A National Insurance contributions for 2021/22 so that HMRC can allocate the payment correctly. If an incorrect reference is used, HMRC may not set it against your 2021/22 Class 1A liability, and you may be charged interest as the payment will appear to be late.
For 2021/22 Class 1A National Insurance, the payment reference is your 13-digit Accounts Office reference, plus 2213. The addition of ‘2213’ is important as the ‘22’ tells HMRC that the payment relates to the 2021/22 tax year which ended on 5 April 2022 and the ‘13’ tells HMRC that the payment of Class 1A National Insurance. You should not have any gaps between any of the numbers in the payment reference.
Making the Payment
There are various options for paying your Class 1A National Insurance. Payment can be made online (at: www.gov.uk/pay-class-1a-national-insurance) via an online bank payment, using a debit or corporate credit card or by a one-off direct debit. Other payment options are also available.
It is important to allow sufficient time for the payment to reach HMRC by 22 July.
Same or next day payments can be made using online or telephone banking (via Faster Payments) or by CHAPS. However, if you pay online by debit or corporate credit card, by BACS, at a bank or building society or by an existing direct debit, you should allow at least 3 working days, If you want to use direct debit and have not set one up before, you should allow at least 5 working days.
If you opt to pay by cheque, you should allow at least 3 working days for the cheque to reach HMRC, although it is prudent to allow longer in case of postal delays. Remember, for cheque payments the deadline is 19 July 2022.
Late Payments
Interest will be charged where payments are made late. The rate is currently 3.75%.