| HR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
Jackie le Poidevin, Editor-in-Chief, HR Adviser |
Shielding to End in 1 April: What Steps Should You Take Now?
At a Downing Street conference on Wednesday, the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, announced that from 1 April England’s 3.7 million extremely vulnerable people will no longer have to shield. What advice are they receiving from the Government and what steps should you, as the employer, take in response?
Over the next 2 weeks, clinically extremely vulnerable people will receive letters advising them that they no longer have to shield. The letters say that:
- Everyone should continue to work from home where possible.
- If someone who was shielding cannot work from home, they should now attend their workplace.
- Employers must reduce the risk of exposure to Covid-19 in the workplace and should explain the measures they have put in place to keep extremely vulnerable staff safe. These may include regular testing of staff.
- People who have been shielding should reduce the amount of time they spend in settings where they can’t maintain social distancing or where other people’s activities may reduce their ability to maintain social distancing.
- This group should continue to take extra precautions to protect themselves, including maintaining social distancing, washing their hands regularly and avoiding touching their face.
- This group may wish to consider avoiding using public transport during rush hour.
- From 1 April, the extremely vulnerable will no longer be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) on the basis of being advised to shield. They may be eligible for SSP or ESA if they are sick or incapable of work.
- The extremely vulnerable may still be eligible for furlough until 30 September, providing that their employer agrees.
- This group should have already been offered their first dose of the vaccine. If they haven’t received it, they should contact their GP.
- If they are concerned about the impact of Covid-19 on their health, they should speak to their GP, hospital clinician or use NHS 111.
The letter also explains how employees can report concerns that their employer isn’t managing Covid-19 risks or seek help if they believe their employment rights are being infringed.
What Should You Do Now?
These are some steps to consider:
- Try to Reassure the Employee
It may be a while before everyone receives their letter. To give yourself as much time as possible to assuage any concerns, you may therefore wish to contact anyone who is shielding to share the points listed above and discuss your next steps. Follow the advice in our accompanying health and safety article on how to address people’s worries as they return to work.
- Consider Reasonable Adjustments
Given that extremely vulnerable people should have received their first vaccination, they should feel safer returning to the workplace (if they can’t work from home) than when shielding was suspended in August. However, you may need to consider reasonable adjustments such as:
- Changing the employee’s start and finish times so they can travel off peak.
- Reassigning the employee to a lower-risk role, such as a non-customer-facing position.
- Providing a separate workspace, a protective screen or additional space around the employee’s work area.
- Plan for Furlough Disputes
If a shielding member of staff has been furloughed, there are a couple of situations you may face.
The person may be reluctant to return – however, there’s no obligation to keep furloughing them if you need them back at work. Nor are they entitled to SSP (if they haven’t already exhausted their 28-week allowance) unless they can provide a doctor’s certificate stating that they are unfit to work.
Alternatively, the person may be eager to get back to the workplace but you don’t have enough work available. In this case, it would be advisable to check you still have a good business reason for continuing to furlough that person rather than someone else. Consider adding them into a furlough rotation or flexible furlough scheme. Leaving the person to linger on 80% of pay without justification could be disability discrimination.
- Consider Your Wider Workforce Procedures
In light of the advice in the Government’s letter, you should remind staff to take extra care with social distancing as vulnerable colleagues return to the workplace. Anyone who repeatedly flouts your Covid-secure measures should face disciplinary action.
You may also wish to introduce lateral-flow testing as an added reassurance.
| PAYROLL
Sarah Bradford, Editor-in-Chief, Pay & Benefits Adviser |
Exemptions for Reimbursed Homeworking Equipment are Extended
One year on from the start of the first national lockdown, many employees have yet to return to the office. In light of this, the temporary exemption for reimbursed home office expenses has been extended for a further tax year, and will now apply until 5 April 2022.
Provision of Homeworking Equipment
Most employees will need equipment to enable them to work from home. Depending on the nature of the employee’s job, this may take the form of office equipment, such as a computer and a printer, together with a desk and an office chair, or it may comprise more specialist equipment.
From a tax perspective, it can make a difference whether the employer provides the equipment direct to the employee, or the employee buys the equipment and is later reimbursed by the employer, despite the fact that, in each case, the employer ultimately bears the cost.
Scenario 1. The Employer Provides the Homeworking Equipment
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, a tax exemption already existed to remove a charge to tax that would otherwise arise where an employer provided an employee with equipment, services and supplies to enable them to work away from the office, for example, at home. This would include the provision of computer equipment, stationery and office furniture.
The exemption applies as long as:
- Any private use by the employee or his or her family or household is not significant; and
- The sole purpose of providing the equipment is to enable the employee to perform the duties of the employment.
The exemption does not apply to the provision of a motor vehicle, boat or aircraft. The extension, conversion or alteration of the employee’s living accommodation or an out building, or the construction of a separate building, for example, to create a home office, also falls outside the scope of the exemption.
Scenario 2. The Employee Buys the Equipment and is Reimbursed by the Employer
At the start of the first lockdown, many employees found themselves working from home at very short notice. From a logistical perspective, it was often easier for the employees to source what they needed to work from home and to claim it back from the employer. However, this approach created a difficulty from a tax perspective.
The exemption outlined above only applies where the employer provides the employee with the equipment and supplies, not where the employer reimburses the employee for costs that they have incurred. While there is a separate exemption for reimbursed expenses, this only covers those expenses that the employee would be able to claim tax relief for if they incurred the costs themselves.
As employee tax relief is limited to revenue items wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the performance of the duties, relief for reimbursed capital costs, such as the cost of computer equipment and office furniture purchased by the employee to enable them to work from home, is denied.
To overcome this, a temporary exemption was introduced last year to prevent a tax charge from arising where employers reimbursed employees for costs that they incurred in purchasing homeworking equipment The exemption applies to equipment purchased for the sole purpose of enabling the employee to work at home as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, as long as the provision of the equipment would have been exempt from tax had the employer provided it directly.
The temporary exemption was due to come to an end on 5 April 2021. However, at the Budget, it was announced that it would be extended for a further year and will continue to be available until 5 April 2022. The exemption also applies for National Insurance purposes, meaning any reimbursement does not need to be included in earnings when working out Class 1 National Insurance contributions.
| HEALTH & SAFETY
Paul Smith, Editor-in-Chief, Health & Safety Adviser |
Follow Latest Covid Advice as Lockdown Eases
As we mark the anniversary of the first lockdown in 2020, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has updated its Covid-Secure advice. It’s very relevant as we move out of the latest lockdown – hopefully for good – and people return to their ‘normal’ workplace after months of homeworking or furlough. We sum up the most recent guidelines and outline the testing options that are now open to employers.
In its latest guidance, the HSE underlines that the 4 key Covid-Secure principles of social distancing, frequent cleaning, adequate ventilation and good hand hygiene remain. As workers return to the workplace, it’s vital that you have an up-to-date risk assessment in place; this should be shared with your employees and others on site e.g. contractors and similar service providers. The HSE stresses that employers should recognise employees’ worries and be ready to:
- Talk through people’s specific concerns.
- Tell them how you’re protecting them at work.
- Make it clear you will always listen to any concerns they may have.
- Tell them to whom they should speak if they are worried.
The ACAS arbitration service has also issued return to work guidelines. Their advice goes into more detail and recommends talking with staff about:
- When they might return to the workplace.
- How they will travel to and from work.
- How health and safety is being reviewed and managed (this is why sharing your latest risk assessment is important).
- Any planned adjustments to the workplace, for example additional hand-washing facilities, staggering start and finish times to avoid overcrowding or floor markings to help people stay apart.
- If there might be a phased return of the workforce, for example, some staff returning before others.
- Arrangements for working at home.
Free Test Kits Available
Employers are now being encouraged to sign up to workplace testing, but it’s not compulsory. Last week, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that just under 50,000 UK businesses had so far signed up. The free test kits offered are the rapid ‘lateral flow’ type that can give a result in less than 30 minutes. It has repeatedly been emphasised that up to 1 in 3 people with coronavirus may be infectious but asymptomatic – so, not realise they have the virus. The hope is that testing will enable more of these cases to be detected quickly so that onward transmission in the workplace can be prevented. Other key points are that:
- Businesses of all sizes can register to receive lateral flow tests.
- The kits are free to businesses until 30 June.
- If you are interested, you must register before 31 March.
If you are based in England and are a registered company, you can register online at: https://tinyurl.com/7jdaatb7. But if you are not a company (e.g. because you are a sole proprietor, partnership or charity) you need to register by mailing the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) at: p-and-psector@dhsc.gov.uk.
Setting up in-house testing is a significant commitment: the official SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for doing so runs to more than 50 pages! You will need to provide a suitable Covid-secure venue, plus staffing and PPE, and be ready to offer all employees the recommended two tests per week. You will also need to make arrangements to:
- Communicate with staff.
- Order and store
- Register staff who’ve been tested and notify them of the results.
- Report your results to Public Health England and any ‘adverse incidents’ to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulator (MHRA).
- Meet data protection and confidentiality
For organisations that lack the resources to take this on, two other options are open:
- Use a non-NHS service provider (in this case you can still register and order the free testing kits, which will reduce your costs).
- Encourage employees to use the free community test sites set up and run by local authorities.
Anyone who has symptoms should not take these tests: they must self-isolate and book a PCR test through NHS Test and Trace as before.