Furlough scheme to be extended to the end of October

Rishi Sunak has announced that the current furlough scheme will be extended until the end of October 2020. Nothing will change to the scheme until the end of July but from August there will be more flexibility with part time working / furlough possibilities.

Full details of how these changes will work are not being announced until the end of May however this does give some reassurances that employers and employees were looking for past June.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-52634759

Governments Covid-19 Recovery Strategy released

The government has released the follow up document to Boris Johnsons’ statement last night. It is intended to clarify details relating to the gradual return to life in a post Covid-19 world. However, there are still many questions unanswered.

There is a small section in Chapter 4 relating to guidance of returning to work which can be summarised as;

– continue to work from home if you can,
– if you can’t, go to work if you are allowed under Covid-19 restrictions and your place of work is open but not via public transport where possible,
– employers should ensure that they are following the “Covid-19 Secure” guidelines (Chapter 3) which are not being released until later this week.

Separate details have been released through the media that non-medical face coverings should be worn on public transport and in enclosed places of work and shops where social distancing may be difficult.

The full document is below followed by some FAQs….
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-plan-to-rebuild-the-uk-governments-covid-19-recovery-strategy

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do/coronavirus-outbreak-faqs-what-you-can-and-cant-do#workers-rights

New online check to see if you are eligable for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme

Gov.uk has now launched an online checking system to see if you are eligable for a payment through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

By logging on to the link below, you will be asked for your Unique Tax Reference, or UTR, from your last tax return, your National Insurance number and if successful your gateway portal reference and password.

You will then be able to make a claim from 8am on the 13th May 2020 with a payment to be made by early June although as yet there no confirmation of a date.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme