COVID-19 Updates – week commencing 05/10/20
More updates of developments from the government and various links to interpretation and guidance.
Go to date:
5 October 2020 …
Tourism Alliance updates
Job Retention Bonus Details Announced
The Government has published the detailed guidance on the Job Retention Bonus. As announced previously, the Job Retention Bonus is one-off £1,000 taxable payment for each eligible employee furloughed and kept continuously employed until 31 January 2021. The bonus itself can be claimed between 15 February 2021 and 31 March 2021.
You can claim for employees that:
· you made an eligible claim for under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
· you kept continuously employed from the end of the claim period of your last Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claim for them, until 31 January 2021
· are not serving a contractual or statutory notice period for you on 31 January 2021 (this includes people serving notice of retirement)
· you paid enough an amount in each relevant tax month and enough to meet the Job Retention Bonus minimum income threshold (see below)
It’s important to note that employers will still be able to claim the Bonus for employees receiving support through the recently announced Job Support Scheme which will supersedes the CJRS
You may be eligible to claim the Job Retention Bonus for employees of a previous business which were transferred to you if:
· TUPE rules applied
· the PAYE business succession rules applied
· the employees were associated with the transfer of a business from the liquidator of a company in compulsory liquidation where TUPE would have applied if the company was not in compulsory liquidation
However, to be eligible for the bonus you must pay your employee a total of at least £1,560 (gross) throughout the tax months:
· 6 November to 5 December 2020
· 6 December 2020 to 5 January 2021
· 6 January to 5 February 2021
And you must do the following now to make sure you’re ready to claim.
· still be enrolled for PAYE online
· comply with your PAYE obligations to file PAYE accurately and on time under Real Time Information (RTI) reporting for all employees between 6 April 2020 and 5 February 2021
· keep your payroll up to date and make sure you report the leaving date for any employees that stop working for you before the end of the pay period that they leave in
· use the irregular payment pattern indicator in Real Time Information (RTI) for any employees not being paid regularly
· comply with all requests from HMRC to provide any employee data for past Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claims
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-can-claim-the-job-retention-bonus-from-15-february-2021
Determining which employees meet the minimum income threshold for the Job Retention Bonus
Along with the announcement of the details of the Job Retention Bonus, the Government has published resources to help employers determine eligibility and how to calculate claims
Guidance Updates
Face Coverings for Staff
The Working Safely with Covid guidance for Restaurants, Pubs, Bars and Takeaway services has now been updated to say:
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- If businesses have taken steps to create a physical barrier or screen between workers and members of the public then staff behind the barrier or screen will not be required to wear a face covering. Enforcement action can be taken if barriers and screens are in place which do not adequately mitigate risks. (section 6.1)
Singing and Dancing
The Guidance has also been updated on singing and dancing to say:
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- From 28 September businesses must prevent singing in groups of more than 6 (or one household); prevent dancing by customers (other than by the couple at a wedding or civil partnership); and ensure that no loud music is played. (Section 1)
Loud music is music which exceeds 85db(A) at its source (except for performances of live music) are not allowed in law. (Section 4.5)
Grants for Bolton Businesses
The Government has announced grants of up to £1,500 for businesses in Bolton. The grants will be allocated by Bolton Council to businesses that have been closed for three weeks and will be allocated on the following basis:
· Businesses with rateable values of less than £51,000 will receive a grant of £1,000
· Businesses with rateable values of £51,000 and over will receive a grant of £1,500
Businesses with more than one affected property will receive a grant in respect of each property. The announcement also states that this additional top-up grant will be paid every 3 weeks to businesses where closures persist,
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bolton-businesses-to-receive-grants-of-up-to-1500-from-government
ONS Research
Another round of ONS research was published which has some very worrying data for tourism and hospitality businesses. Among the key findings are:
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- The percentage of people visiting a restaurant, pubs, bar or café has fallen from 38% to 28% in the three weeks since Eat Out to Help Out ended
- The percentage of people visiting a beach, beauty spot or heritage site has fallen from 14% to 9% over the last month
- The percentage of people going on holiday in the UK has fallen from 8% to 5% over the last month
(obviously a lot of the last two findings are related to the end of summer holidays but it shows how tourism revenue is falling away)
£40m Package for Hospitality and Leisure Businesses
With the announcement of the Merseyside Lockdown area, the Metro Mayor and the Mayor and Leaders of the region’s six local authorities (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral) have announced that they will divert money from other projects to establish a £40m emergency fund to help hospitality and leisure businesses in the region. The details for eligibility are being developed at the moment but is expected that these will be announced when the fund is launched later this week. Allocations will be distributed through the local authorities.
6 October 2020 …
Tourism Alliance updates:
Updated Guidance for Restaurants, Pubs, Bars and Take Away Services
The Working Safely during Coronavirus Guidance Restaurants, Pubs, Bars and Takeaway Services has been updated in relation to taking payments and guidance on
Payment
on taking payments from customers has been updated to allow for customers to pay at the counter rather than at their tables where adequate safety measures are in place. This will help businesses with few or no handheld card machines.
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- “Payment should also be taken at the table wherever possible, but may be taken at a bar or counter if safety measures are in place” (Section 2.2)
SEISS Guidance Update
Under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, if you’ve had a new child, you may still be able to make a claim even if you would otherwise be ineligible. The guidance on how to ask HMRC to verify that you had a new child which affected your eligibility for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme before you make a claim has been added.
If HMRC has confirmed your eligibility you can make a claim on or before 19 October 2020.
Travel Guidance in Educational Settings
The guidance for educational travel by children under the age of 18 has been updated with links through to guidance for both schools and further education providers. In both situations, the guidance is against overnight travel but day-trips are allowed provided that there is a thorough risk assessment.
Back Bench Debate on DCMS Covid Expenditure
Time to dust off those briefings again. On Thursday morning there is a back bench debate in the Commons on spending of the Department for Digital, Culture and Media and Sport on support measures for the DCMS sectors during and after the covid-19 pandemic. This is being lead by Julian Knight MP (Chair of the DCMS Select Committee) and Kevin Brannan MP (former Shadow Tourism Minister and also member of the DCMS Select Committee)
CPT update:
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS – TOUR SUPPLIER TERMS
CPT members will be aware of the various local lockdown restrictions that are in place in different areas on England, Scotland and Wales
Each Government has put in place slightly different rules and these can sometimes cause issues, especially for cross border journeys
With the incidence of infection rates rising and correspondingly the likelihood of restrictions on travel to and from affected areas being imposed at short notice, tour operators are reminded that they should safeguard their commercial interests and ensure that hotel and attraction bookings can be cancelled without penalty in the event that they have to curtail or cancel tours on account of this
While currently this is an issue that only affects tours from the North of England to Scotland and Wales, the situation has developed rapidly and is likely to continue to do so with restrictions potentially being imposed anywhere in the UK, at short notice
We are aware of some hotels already refusing refunds where tours are cancelled as a result of local restrictions, relying on terms and conditions in the original booking contract to allow them to do this This has happened despite operators cancelling tours in line with official guidance and where in a number of cases, it would have been illegal to have continued operating the tours as originally envisaged
Operators are urged to review their supplier terms and conditions in respect of cancellation and discuss short notice cancellations with them to mitigate any impact that the imposition of restrictions may bring
8 October 2020 …
Debate on DCMS Support
Here’s a link to the debate on DCMS support for areas under it’s responsibility which has a large tourism and hospitality component.
The debate started at 14:36:54 – so click on that time on the scroll-down column to the left of the screen
https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/0d08c5bb-04d0-4a34-b1d1-8efba0179f9c
Protecting Staff From Coronavirus
The guidance for businesses on testing staff for Coronavirus has been updated with a separate annex on the legal responsibilities on employers to protect the health of their staff.
Companies House Online Filings
Companies house has issued new guidance on how businesses can undertake the following filings online:
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- Insolvency
- share capital
- registrar’s powers
- change of constitution
- Scottish limited partnerships
- Scottish qualifying partnerships
You must also use their existing online services to:
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- file your accounts
- file your confirmation statement
- make changes to your company
- close your company
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/efs-submission/start
Coronavirus and the Latest Indicators for the UK Economy
The results of the latest results of the ONS’s ongoing series on the impact of Coronavirus on the UK economy. The key tourism-related findings in this publication is that:
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- 61% of accommodation and food businesses say that profits have decreased while just 7% report that it has increased. This compares with the average of 43% of all businesses recording a decrease and is the highest of any sector surveyed.
- 34% of accommodation and food businesses say they have less than 3 months reserves, and a further 6% state that they have no reserves at all compared to 24% and 4% for UK businesses as a whole.
- 25% of accommodation and food businesses are not confident that they will survive the next three months
DfT Travel Attitudes Survey
DfT have undertaken a survey of travel attitudes which includes a section on Leisure and Holidays which looks at public attitudes towards leisure time in the light of the coronavirus and how the pandemic has changed the anticipated holiday-making of respondents.
Among the findings are that, while 7% reported to plan more holidays overseas after travel restrictions and social distancing have been removed, 29% said they would plan fewer holidays and 35% about the same. 11% indicated that they never plan holidays overseas and 18% said that they do not tend to go on holidays in general.
With regard to domestic holidays, 20% of respondents said they would plan more holidays in the UK, 15% said fewer holidays and 46% said about the same. However, of those that would go on holiday in the UK, more than two-thirds said that it is not very likely (35%) or not at all likely (35%) that they would consider using public transport to go on holiday in the UK in the future.
Updated Guidance for Places of Worship
The Government has again updated the guidance for places of worship to incorporate changes in regulation that affect places of worship, announced on 22 September and to highlight that different guidance and legislation will apply in local lockdown areas and that you need to consult the local restrictions guidance to see if there are any restrictions are in place in your area.
Reopening the High Street Safely
The FAQ for this initiative has been updated. The updates are:
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- Updated eligibility for RHSSF High Street Ambassadors
- Provided further guidance on the use of the Procurement Policy Note
- Added Activity Examples that are eligible for funding
