A collection of guidance, commentary and links to further resources and information to help churches and charities through the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The following notes and commentary are designed to help church and charity leaders, along with Christian missionaries and other Christian workers to navigate their way through the many resources available during this pandemic. The laws and guidance covered apply in England but does not cover local lockdown rules. There may also be variations for those based in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
We have briefly summarised the relevant material and then signposted you to further Stewardship and third-party information.
Information is changing daily and you are therefore urged to check that you are viewing the most up-to-date details.
Help for Churches and Christian Charities
Help for Self-Employed Christian Missionaries and other Christian Workers
Help for Individuals and Workers
Other General Resources / Signposts
Help for Churches and Christian Charities
The following Tables summarise the position for churches during the national restrictions applicable from 12 April 2021 (subject to further reviews by the Government). Words or phrases in red bold type are further defined or explained in the Notes to the Tables. Links to extensive further guidance also appear below.
Notes to the Tables
The following notes provide explanatory definitions of the terms noted below. For the full legal definitions of any relevant terms used in the legislation, reference should be made to The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps)(England) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/364).
COVID-19 secure
In order that an event or premises are COVID-19 secure, it is necessary for the event organisers to have carried out what the legislation refers to as ‘the required precautions’. The required precautions involve both:
Support Bubbles
Where an ‘eligible household’ chooses to do so, they may link with another household to form a support bubble. In doing so, both households are treated as a single household. Generally speaking, an ‘eligible household’ is one comprising a single adult with or without children, parents of a child under one year old and other people with vulnerabilities.
It is possible to leave one support bubble and join another one provided that there is a 14-day ‘cooling off’ period in between.
Note that a support bubble and a childcare bubble are not the same. A support bubble allows you to have close contact with another household, including for socialising. A childcare bubble allows you to link with another household to provide childcare for children under 14. Not all restrictions apply exemptions for both support bubbles and childcare support bubbles.
For full Guidance on the current rules, refer to Making a support bubble with another household and Making a childcare bubble with another household.
Support Groups
Support Groups are groups or one-to-one support organised to provide mutual aid, therapy or any other form of support to its members or those who attend meetings. Examples include providing support to victims of crime (including domestic abuse), those with, or recovering from addictions or addictive patterns of behaviour, new parents, to those with a disability, or caring for persons with a disability, to those who have suffered bereavement and to vulnerable young people.
Further Guidance
Further guidance from the Government (except where otherwise stated) that is relevant to churches and those attending churches, can be accessed from these links:
General
(COVID-19) Coronavirus restrictions: what you can and cannot do
This Guidance covers a wide range of relevant topics including travelling internationally to the UK or from England.
Risk assessment / COVID-secure
HSE Guidance for completing a risk assessment
HSE: Making your workplace COVID secure during the coronavirus pandemic
COVID-19: Guidance for the safe use of multi-purpose community facilities
Guidance for community centres, village halls, and other multi-use community facilities that support a wide range of local activity.
Detailed guidance for churches and church activities
COVID-19: guidance for the safe use of places of worship
Detailed guidance on:
COVID-19: suggested principles of safer singing
Performing Arts - Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)
People's homes: Guidance for people working in, visiting or delivering to other people's homes.
Guidance for special church services:
Guidance for churches offering café or food / takeaway services
Hospitality - Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19)
Closing certain businesses and venues in England
Volunteering
Coronavirus: How to help safely
Enabling safe and effective volunteering during coronavirus (COVID-19)
Supervised children’s activities
Protective measures for … out-of-school settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
Actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures
Guidance for individuals
Making a support bubble with another household and Making a childcare bubble with another household
A description of support bubbles, who may form them, changing your support bubble and what to do if someone has to self isolate on shows symptoms of COVID-19.
How to stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19)
Guidance on social distancing, good hygiene, face coverings, ventilation testing, self isolation and vaccination.
Face coverings: when to wear one, exemptions, and how to make one
2. Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)
Introduction
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was extended in Budget 2021 until 30 September 2021. Eligible employers can join the Scheme even where they have not participated previously. For periods from 1 May 2021, individuals employed and on the PAYE payroll on 2 March 2021 will be able to be included for the first time.
From March until the end of June 2021, the employee support level remains at 80% with no employer contribution to pay for unworked hours. From 1 July 2021, the level of grant will be reduced and employers will be asked to contribute towards the cost of furloughed employees’ wages, as the economy reopens.
To be eligible for the grant, furloughed employees must continue to be paid 80% of their wages up to a cap of £2,500 per month for the time they spend on furlough. Wage caps are proportional to the hours not worked.
The Table below shows the level of government contribution, the required employer contributions and the amount that employees receive per month from May onwards, where the employee is furloughed 100% of the time:
|
|
May ‘21 |
June ‘21 |
July ‘21 |
August ‘21 |
Sept ‘21 |
|
Government contribution: wages for hours not worked |
80% up to £2,500 |
80% up to £2,500 |
70% up to £2,187.50 |
60% up to £1,875 |
60% up to £1,875 |
|
Employer contribution: employer National Insurance contributions and pension contributions |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Employer contribution wages for hours not worked |
No |
No |
10% up to £312.50 |
20% up to £625 |
20% up to £625 |
|
For hours not worked employee receives |
80% up to £2,500 per month |
80% up to £2,500 per month |
80% up to £2,500 per month |
80% up to £2,500 per month |
80% up to £2,500 per month |
Employers can continue to top up your employees’ wages above the 80% total and £2,500 cap for the hours not worked at their own expense.
The CJRS is available to churches and charities where staff are paid under PAYE. This includes office holders such as ministers of religion. Churches are able to bring furloughed employees back to work on a part time basis or furlough them full-time.
Staff can be furloughed because they
HMRC has updated its CJRS Step by Step Guide for Employers which all employers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with.
Government publication of each employer’s CJRS claims
As part of their commitment to transparency and to deter fraudulent claims, HMRC now publish details of employers who have made CJRS claims:
If there could be a serious risk to individuals of violence or intimidation from publication of these details, an employer (but not their tax agent) can request that their details are not published by completing an online application and provide supporting evidence.
New lists are published monthly and HMRC are encouraging the public to report fraud to HMRC if they have evidence to suggest that an employer on the list is abusing the scheme.
In a further move, HMRC also lets employees know if their employer has submitted a CJRS claim for them, via their online Personal Tax Account.
Requirement for written agreements with employees
To be eligible for the grant, employers must have confirmed to their employee (or reached collective agreement with a trade union) in writing that they have been furloughed or flexibly furloughed.
Employers must:
The Scheme rules set out what the agreement between employer and employee should contain. The employee does not have to provide a written response and employers do not need to place all their employees on furlough.
Eligibility
Guidance
Check if you can claim for your employees' wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Check which employees you can put on furlough to use the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Employers
Employees
For periods from 1 May 2021 onwards:
Periods prior to 1 May 2021:
All periods:
Furloughed employees and other work or volunteering
During hours for which an employee is on furlough, they cannot be asked to do any work that:
But the employee can:
Furlough and holidays including bank holidays
If employers have furloughed employees because of the effects of coronavirus on their business, they can claim under the CJRS for periods of paid leave their employees take while on furlough, including for bank holidays. Employers should not place employees on furlough just because they are going to be on leave.
If an employee is furloughed for only some of their hours, employers can count all time taken as holiday as furloughed hours, rather than working hours. This means employers can currently claim for 80% of their employee’s usual wages when they’re on leave.
In line with the Working Time Regulations, if a furloughed employee takes holiday, employers should make sure they are calculating the correct holiday pay and not simply continuing to pay the 80% they receive through the CJRS. They may need to top up their employees’ pay to 100% of their normal hourly rate or salary. More information is available here.
Furlough and sickness
If an employee is on sick leave or self-isolating as a result of coronavirus, they may be able to get Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). The CJRS is not intended for short-term absences from work due to sickness.
Short-term illness or self-isolation should not be a consideration in deciding whether to furlough an employee. If, however, employers want to furlough employees for business reasons and they are currently off sick, they are eligible to do so, as with other employees. In these cases, the employee should no longer receive sick pay and would be classified as a furloughed employee.
Employers can furlough employees who are clinically extremely vulnerable or at the highest risk of severe illness from coronavirus. It is up to employers to decide whether to furlough these employees. An employer does not need a business reason to be eligible to claim for these employees.
Employers can claim under both the CJRS and the SSP rebate scheme (see separate Statutory Sick Pay section below) for the same employee but not for the same period of time. When an employee is on furlough, a claim should only be made through the CJRS, and not the SSP rebate scheme. If a non-furloughed employee becomes ill due to coronavirus or needs to self-isolate or shield, this may qualify for the SSP rebate scheme.
If an employee becomes sick while furloughed
Furloughed employees retain their statutory rights, including their right to SSP. This means that furloughed employees who become ill, due to coronavirus or any other cause, must be paid at least SSP. Subject to eligibility, this includes those self-isolating or clinically extremely vulnerable because of coronavirus. It is up to employers to decide whether to move these employees onto SSP or to keep them on furlough, at their furloughed rate.
If a furloughed employee who becomes sick is moved onto SSP, employers can no longer claim for the furloughed salary. Employers are required to pay SSP themselves, although may qualify for a rebate for up to two weeks of SSP if the sickness is related to coronavirus.
If employers keep the sick furloughed employee on the furloughed rate for the period that they are sick, they remain eligible to claim for these costs through the furloughed scheme.
Flexible furlough agreements
There is no minimum furlough period. Agreed flexible furlough agreements can last any amount of time. Employees can enter into a flexible furlough agreement more than once.
Although flexible furlough agreements can last any amount of time, the period that you claim for must be for a minimum claim period of seven calendar days unless otherwise specified.
Employment taxes, national insurance and pension contributions
Employers must continue to deduct PAYE income tax and employee National Insurance contributions on the full amount paid to employees, including any CJRS grant. These, together with employer’s national insurance contributions (again, based on the full amount, including CJRS grant), must be paid over to HMRC.
These payments must be reported through a Full Payment Submission (FPS) to HMRC on or before the pay date.
Employees will also still pay pension contributions (both employer and automatic contributions from the employee), unless the employee has opted out or stopped saving into their pension.
The CJRS grants do not cover employer National Insurance contributions or pension contributions.
Claims
Employers can claim the CJRS grant for the hours their employees are not working, calculated by reference to their 'usual hours' worked in a claim period.
Employers therefore need to report hours worked (for which they will pay their employees as normal) and the ‘usual hours’ an employee would be expected to work in a claim period.
When claiming the CJRS grant for furloughed hours, employers must report and claim for a minimum period of 7 consecutive calendar days (see also ‘Flexible furlough agreements’ above).
Claims must continue to be made for calendar months.
Deadlines for monthly claims
Claims can be made before, during or after the payroll is processed as long as the claim is submitted by the relevant claim deadline. The deadline is the 14th of the month following the month of claim unless this is a non-working day, in which case it is the next working day.
You cannot submit your claim more than 14 days before your claim period end date.
You will only be able to increase the amount of your claim if you amend the claim within 28 calendar days after the month the claim relates to (unless this falls on a weekend or a bank holiday, it would then be the next working day).
Interaction of CJRS and Employment Allowance
Employers who claimed CJRS grants for periods between 1 March and 31 July 2020 will have received a grant under the Scheme for eligible Class 1 employer National Insurance contributions costs. This was only possible for CJRS claims during that period.
HMRC has recently pointed out that when working out how much employer National Insurance contributions are claimable from the CJRS Scheme, employers should have subtracted any Employment Allowance (EA) for that pay period (leading to a reduced CJRS claim).
EA can be used to pay less employer National Insurance contributions until the allowance runs out or until the end of the tax year, whichever comes first. However, EA cannot be manually spread over the tax year if it would otherwise be used up sooner. In other words, employers must ensure that they did not receive relief for the same employer National Insurance contributions costs twice.
July 2020 was the last month for which you could claim a CJRS grant towards National Insurance Contributions. If too much has been claimed under the CJRS, employers should contact HMRC’s employer helpline and they will change the value of your EA claim.
If an error has been made, it is advisable to contact HMRC to put this right as soon as possible. As they go on to say “attempting to get relief for the same costs twice is fraudulent and may result in claims being investigated.”
Further guidance on the claims process:
‘Usual pay’
Identifying ‘usual pay’ will depend on whether the employee is on a fixed pay or variable pay contract.
Employee has fixed pay
First, it is necessary to identify the reference period to use to work out a given employee’s usual pay.
The reference period is the last pay period ending on or before 19 March 2020 for employees who either:
For all other employees, the reference period is the last pay period ending on or before 30 October 2020.
Employees whose pay varies
If an employee has variable pay, their ‘usual pay’ depends on when they were on the payroll.
For employees on the payroll on 19 March 2020 (whose earnings were reported to HMRC on a Real Time Information Full Payment Submission on or before 19 March 2020), their ‘usual pay’ is the higher of:
The same applies to employees who were subject to a valid CJRS claim in a claim period ending any time on or before 31 October 2020.
For all other employees ‘usual pay’ is the average wages payable between 6 April 2020 (or, if later, the date the employment started) and the day before they are furloughed on or after 1 November 2020.
Employees who were first reported on your payroll between 31 October 2020 and 2 March 2021 can be furloughed from 1 May 2021. Details of how you should calculate these employees’ wages will be provided in updated guidance in due course.
Further detail on ‘usual pay’ is given in the HMRC Guidance: Calculate how much you can claim using the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
‘Usual hours’ and ‘furlough hours’
An employee’s ‘usual hours’ for the purposes of calculating the CJRS grant will depend on when they first came onto the payroll, when the first CJRS claim was made in respect of them and whether the employee works fixed or variable hours.
More detail on how to calculate ‘usual hours’ is given in the HMRC Guidance Steps to take before calculating your claim using the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
The ‘furlough hours’ are calculated as [‘usual hours’ minus actual hours worked] in the pay period. This is not always an obvious calculation as the ‘usual hours’ are calculated on a seven calendar day basis rather than on contractual working days.
Detailed Guidance
HMRC has published detailed guidance on the CJRS from 1 November for:
Employees, covering (amongst other things):
Employers here and here, covering (amongst other things):
Help with calculating your CJRS grant claims
Correcting errors/over-claims
If a CJRS grant has been over-claimed and not repaid, the employer must notify HMRC by the latest of either:
Failure to notify HMRC within these time limits may result in a penalty.
Repayment of an over-claimed grant within these time limits will prevent a potential tax liability arising. If repaid, there is no need to make a disclosure to HMRC.
It is therefore prudent for churches and charities who have made claims to check and double-check that the amounts they claimed were right.
If a charity makes an honest mistake, HMRC will want to help correct it. However, where employers don’t take the opportunity to correct mistakes and don’t respond to HMRC prompts, they will carry out investigations into their affairs. HMRC has said that ‘deliberate defaulters’ will be publicly named on their website.
Both repayments of over-claimed amounts and payments where an employer wishes to make a voluntary repayment can be made by either:
Further details can be found in the HMRC Guidance: Pay Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grants back.
3. Coronavirus vaccine access for ‘undocumented people’
‘Undocumented people’ are at risk of not receiving the coronavirus vaccine. They include those not registered with a GP and those whose immigration status is uncertain at the present time.
Lord Greenhalgh, the Faith Minister, has released a statement confirming that the coronavirus vaccine will be offered and made available to everyone living in the UK free of charge, regardless of their immigration status, and that no immigration checks will be carried out.
It is important that as many people as possible are vaccinated in order to limit the spread of coronavirus. Churches can both encourage their members to receive the vaccine and reach out to marginalised people who may not be registered with a GP.
Lord Greehalgh’s statement, which appears in full on the Your Neighbour website, also contains a link enabling undocumented people to download and print an NHS ‘right to treatment’ card which makes clear that anyone in England can see a GP without the need for a fixed address or identification. It also gives the opportunity for the holder to indicate if they need help filling in forms or in reading and understanding materials.
About Your Neighbour:
Your Neighbour is helping local churches to restore hope, renew community and tackle injustice in the wake of Covid.
Partnered with Stewardship, they are working across all denominations, with charity partners and government to support and fund churches where the needs are greatest. They are the only organisation that is able to identify and support local churches and their communities solely based on need, and irrespective of any other affiliations. You can sign up on their homepage to receive actions, prayers, and opportunities to give to local church projects.
4. Tax exemption for charity trading – impact of Coronavirus Support Payments
When charities carry out trading activity that constitutes the actual carrying out of a primary charitable purpose, that activity is exempt from income / corporation tax. An example would be selling bibles and Christian books as part of a church bookstall. However, where trading activities go beyond the actual carrying out of a primary purpose, for example, by selling books that are not specifically Christian, then those activities are taxable. However, there is a further exemption for small scale ‘non-charitable’ trading activities. This applies if:
‘Coronavirus Support Payments’ (CSP) are treated for tax purposes as additional income of the trade that gave rise to the CSP and are subject to tax where the trade concerned is taxable. What is included in the term ‘coronavirus support payments’ is defined in Finance Act 2020 and includes grants received under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the Small Business Grant Scheme, Retail and Leisure Hospitality Grants and Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund.
Where a charity’s activities that gave rise to a CSP, such as CJRS grants, are tax exempt, all CSP receipts including CJRS grants are also tax exempt. Furthermore, when considering if the small-scale ‘non charitable’ trading exemption (outlined above) applies, CSPs can been excluded from turnover.
5. Supreme Court decision on Business Interruption insurance
On 15 January 2020, the Supreme Court decided that many of the claims made under business interruption (BI) insurance policies as a result of COVID-19 that insurers had until now refused, should be paid. The Supreme Court is the most senior court in England and Wales and therefore their decision is final.
Implications for churches and Christian charities
Churches and Christian charities that undertake any form of business activity covered by BI insurance should consider whether or not they can make a claim if they have not already done so. The court decision may also impact on the amount of the claim that can be made. Therefore if a claim has already been made, insured parties may wish to review this.
Whether or not a COVID-19 claim under a BI policy is payable is dependent on the precise policy wording in the insured’s particular policy. However, the court provided answers to some key questions of interpretation that insurers had sought to use to resist claims. It is now estimated that claims on 370,000 policies worth £1.8 billion covering 700 policy types and more than 60 insurance companies will be payable as a result of this decision.
Many policies include BI as a consequence of property damage only. But some policies also cover BI from other causes, in particular infectious or notifiable diseases ('disease clauses') and prevention of access and public authority closures or restrictions ('prevention of access clauses'). In some cases, insurers have accepted liability under these policies. In other cases, insurers have disputed liability while policyholders considered that they had cover, leading to widespread concern about the lack of clarity and certainty.
The ruling
The Supreme Court ruled that cover may be available for partial closure of premises (as well as full closure) and for mandatory closure orders that were not legally binding; and that valid claims should not be reduced because the loss would have resulted in any event from the pandemic. This will mean that more policyholders will have valid claims and some pay-outs will be higher.
The judgment is legally binding on the insurers that agreed to be parties to the Supreme Court test case.
The judgment also provides authoritative guidance for the interpretation of similar policy wordings and claims. It can be taken into account in other court cases, including in Scotland and Northern Ireland, by the Financial Ombudsman and by the FCA in looking at whether insurers are handling claims fairly.
Affected policies
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has provided a list of policies affected by these legal proceedings (although these currently only take into account the earlier High Court decision. They have yet to be updated for the subsequent Supreme Court decision). Inclusion in the list below does not necessarily mean that a BI claim will be competent. Reference should be made to the following further information and the FCA says that policyholders should speak to their insurance broker, legal advisers or insurer for questions arising:
FCA: Business interruption insurance page
FCA: Supreme Court judgment in FCA’s business interruption insurance test case
Herbert Smith Freehills: Supreme Court hands down judgment in FCA’s Covid-19 Business Interruption Test Case
Ecclesiastical Insurance: FCA Test Case - update
Ansvar: COVID-19 updates – FCA Test Case – update
The policies most likely to be of relevance to churches and charities are:
Aviva Insurance Limited
BHIB – CharityAssured Policy
Covea Insurance plc
(Endsleigh) Charity Advantage
Insure Your Village Hall
HDI Global Specialty SE
Church Choice
Edwards Church Choice
Presbyterian Church Choice
Elim Church Choice
Kingdom Bank Insurance Brokers Church Policy
Methodist Insurance Plc
Charity Shield
QBE UK Limited
Salus Charity and Care Policy
PROCBCC170619 Rockland Village Halls Business Combined
6. Guidance on safe and effective volunteering during COVID-19
The Government has produced several useful guides on volunteers and volunteering during COVID-19:
Enabling safe and effective volunteering during coronavirus (COVID-19) includes areas such as:
Coronavirus: How to help safely is a brief guide aimed at volunteers. It covers:
Volunteer placements, rights and expenses is a series of mini guides giving general guidance on volunteering but which has been updated to take account of COVID-19 issues. The mini guides cover:
7. National Minimum Wage (NMW) / National Living Wage (NLW) – new rates and age limits
Whilst not strictly a coronavirus-related item, it would be easy to miss the changes to the NMW and NLW rates and age limits amidst home working, furloughing and general focus on pandemic related matters. This is therefore a reminder that the following changes apply from 1 April 2021:
From 1 April 2021, workers aged 23 and over will now also be entitled to be paid at least the National Living Wage.
From the same date, the NLW and NMW rates are increasing as follows:
April 2020 April 2021 Increase (%)
National Living Wage £8.72 £8.91 2.2%
21-22 Year Old Rate £8.20 £8.36 2.0%
18-20 Year Old Rate £6.45 £6.56 1.7%
16-17 Year Old Rate £4.55 £4.62 1.5%
Apprentice Rate £4.15 £4.30 3.6%
Accommodation Offset £8.20 £8.36 2.0%
8. Tax exemption: COVID-19 testing
Employer provided COVID-19 tests (antigen tests) are already exempt from tax and national insurance. However, this had not applied to advance payment by the employer to the employee or reimbursement by the employer of costs incurred by the employee for a COVID-19 test.
For the tax years 2020/21 and 2021/22 (that is, until 5 April 2022), there will be no income tax or national insurance implications of either employer advance funding or reimbursement of costs of employees who undertake a COVID-19 test. The exemption applies both to employer’s and employees’ national insurance. This has now been confirmed in official Guidance.
9. Government grants for businesses required to close due to due to local or national restrictions
A number of church-based business activities (whether carried out within the charity of through a trading subsidiary) may be able to benefit from several Government grant schemes which are being administered by Local Authorities.
Restart grants
On 3 March 2021, the Government announced new one-off support (a ‘Restart Grant’ (RG)) for non-essential retail, hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses in England. Funding will be available from 1 April 2021. The purpose of the grants is to enable businesses that have been closed to reopen safely. Businesses in the hospitality sector etc will be eligible for a higher level of grant as they may open later under the Government’s COVID-19 Roadmap plans and will be impacted by restrictions when they do reopen.
The primary principle of the RG is to support businesses that offer in-person services, where the main service and activity takes place in fixed rate-paying premises, in the relevant sectors.
Amount of grant funding available
Non-essential retail businesses with a rateable value on 1 April 2021 of:
‘Non-essential retail businesses’ include clothes shops, book shops, gift shops and charity shops.
Qualifying hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym business premises with a rateable value on 1 April 2021 of:
‘Qualifying hospitality, accommodation, leisure’ etc. includes restaurants, cafes, conference centres, exhibition and banquet halls, wedding and event venues, public halls, soft play centres or areas, village halls and scout huts. ‘Accommodation’ includes caravan and chalet sites and parks, hotels, guest and boarding houses, holiday apartments, cottages etc, campsites, canal boats, B&Bs, catered holiday homes and holiday homes.
Businesses (which includes eligible business activities of charities) will be entitled to receive a grant for each property on the rating list. So, some businesses may receive more than one grant where they have more than one rateable property.
Grant income received by a business is taxable. The RG will need to be included as income in the tax return of the business (but see the section ‘Tax exemption for charity trading – impact of Coronavirus Support Payments’ above).
Application process
All first-time applicants for a COVID-19 business grant will need to apply to their Local Authority. The Local Authority must be satisfied that businesses that have previously received related grants under this scheme meet the eligibility criteria for the RG. All businesses will be required to self-certify that they meet all eligibility criteria.
Application deadline
The application closure date for this scheme is 30 June 2021 and final payments must be made by 31 July 2021
Further guidance
For more details on the RG Scheme, including definitions of ‘non-essential retail’, ‘hospitality’, ‘leisure’, ‘accommodation’ and ‘gym and sports’, please refer to the BEIS guidance to Local Authorities.
Additional Restrictions Grant (‘ARG’)
In March 2021, the Government announced further funding for Local Authorities to continue ARG grant funding until 31 March 2022. The Scheme aims to support businesses severely impacted by coronavirus restrictions when most needed. Authorities can use their ARG funding for any form of business support activities. This may primarily take the form of discretionary grants, but they can also use it for wider direct business support activities.
In their guidance to Local Authorities, the Government says:
“In taking decisions on the appropriate level of grant, Local Authorities may want to take into account businesses outside of the business rates system, businesses that have not received any other grant support, the level of fixed costs of the business, the number of employees the business has, whether it is unable to trade online and the consequent scale of coronavirus losses.” [Emphasis added].
The Additional Restrictions Grant will need to be included as income in any tax return of the business (but see the section ‘Tax exemption for charity trading – impact of Coronavirus Support Payments’ above).
Eligibility
Eligibility appears to be defined by businesses that are not eligible rather than those that are. Apart from this, local authorities can seemingly provide grants at their discretion within the purposes of the ARG Scheme.
The following are ineligible:
Application process
Application is made to the local authority and businesses will be required to self-certify that they meet all eligibility criteria.
Further guidance
Further information on the ARG can be found in the Government’s Guidance to Local Authorities.
Closed Businesses Lockdown Payment (CBLP)
Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are to receive a one-off grant worth up to £9,000 where they have been required to close due to national restrictions as of 5 January 2021. Further discretionary funding is also being made available to Local Authorities to support other businesses not eligible for the grants, who may be affected by the restrictions.
Businesses should apply to their Local Authorities.
The one-off grants will be paid to eligible closed businesses as follows:
Any business which is legally required to close, and which cannot operate effectively remotely, is eligible for a grant.
Deadline for applications
The CBLP scheme closes on 30 April 2021 and final payments must have been made by that date.
Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) Addendum: 5 January (LRSGCA)
Businesses required to close in England due to local or national restrictions are also eligible for grants of up to £3,000 per month under the Local Restrictions Support Grants:
Deadline for applications
The LRSGCA scheme closes on:
Further guidance
The precise nature of these funding streams is complicated but details can be found in BEIS guidance for local authorities, and in Guidance here.
In essence, the funding streams are as follows: (‘LCAL’ refers to the Local Covid Alert Level)
10. DBS Checks: Use of expired passports for ID checking during COVID-19
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has previously announced some relaxations to identity (ID) checking procedures during COVID-19 which enable:
They have now announced an additional temporary relaxation to allow expired UK passports to be used for ID checking purposes, if within six months of their expiry date.
11.Holiday entitlement and pay during coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Support has published an explanation of how holiday entitlement and pay operate during the coronavirus pandemic, where it differs from the standard holiday entitlement and pay guidance. It covers employers’ legal obligations towards both those that have continued to work, as well as those that have been furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
The Guidance covers:
12. Government-backed Loan Schemes
Recovery Loan Scheme (‘RCS’)
As part of the Budget announcements on 3 March 2021, the Government revealed plans to introduce a new Recovery Loan Scheme which launched on 6 April 2021. This follows the closure of several earlier Covid-19 loan schemes on 31 March 2021. The Recovery Loan Scheme is scheduled to run until 31 December 2021, subject to review.
This new scheme, which like its predecessor schemes, will be overseen by the Government-owned British Business Bank, aims to help businesses affected by Covid-19 and can be used for any legitimate business purpose, including managing cash flow, investment and growth. It is designed to appeal to businesses that can afford to take out additional debt finance for these purposes.
The maximum value of a facility provided under the scheme is £10m per business. Minimum facility sizes vary, starting at £1,000 for asset and invoice finance, and £25,001 for term loans and overdrafts. Term loans and asset finance facilities are available for periods of up to six years, with overdrafts and invoice finance available for up to three years. Other features include:
Apart from a few stated exceptions, ‘businesses’ from any sector are eligible to apply. This includes churches and Christian charities, as well as trading subsidiaries. An eligible ‘business’ can apply if it:
Loans are available through a network of accredited lenders, whose names will be made public in due course. They will be required to undertake credit and fraud checks for all applicants. When making their assessment, they may overlook concerns over short-to-medium term performance owing to the pandemic. The checks and approach may vary between lenders.
Further information can be found here, here and here.
13. Statutory Sick Pay (‘SSP’)
HMRC has published guidance on claiming back SSP paid to employees due to COVID-19. SSP for sickness related to coronavirus is payable from the first day of sickness (rather than after the normal four waiting days). The Government will reimburse coronavirus-related SSP to the employer for the first two weeks if an employee is unable to work because they:
Most people are asked to self-isolate for 3 days before surgery. In this case, the day of surgery will be the 4th day of their period of incapacity for work. You cannot claim repayment of SSP for the day of surgery or any other days when the absence is not due to coronavirus.
You can make more than one claim per employee, but you cannot claim for more than two weeks in total.
You can claim back from both the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme for the same employee but not for the same period of time.
Where an employee returning to the UK is required to quarantine for 14 days and is unable to work during this period, they will not qualify for SSP unless they also meet one of the above criteria.
Claims can be made online.
Employees do not have to give you a doctor’s fit note for you to make a claim. But you can ask them to give you either:
14. Tax: Expenses and benefits provided to employees during COVID-19
HMRC has published Guidance on tax reliefs and exemptions (and benefits that remain subject to income tax) arising from employees working from home because their workplace has closed or they have been advised to self isolate. Please note that this Guidance does not apply to furloughed workers.
The Guidance, which can be found here, covers issues such as provision of mobile devices and other employer-provided equipment, broadband installation costs, laptops, computers etc, office supplies, employer-provided loans, additional costs of electricity, heating and broadband and hotel and subsistence costs away from home where self isolating.
The above Guidance incorporates the principle set out on 13 May 2020 by Jesse Norman, Financial Secretary to the Treasury in a Written Statement in the House of Commons. That is, that where an employer reimburses expenses for office equipment bought by an employee for use at home during the coronavirus emergency, there will be a temporary tax exemption and National Insurance disregard to ensure that the expense will not attract tax and NICs liabilities provided that two conditions (set out in the Statement apply). This is backdated to 16 March 2020 and following Budget 2021, will now apply until 5 April 2022.
HMRC has also published guidance for employers on ‘How to Treat certain expenses and benefits provided to employees during coronavirus (COVID-19)’ including: Coronavirus testing, PPE, Living Accommodation; Volunteer fuel and Mileage Costs; Paying or Refunding Transport Costs; Company Car ‘availability’; and how to report these expenses and benefits to HMRC.
15. Tax relief for employees working from home due to COVID-19
Many charities are suffering significant falls in income as a result of coronavirus and are therefore not in a position to compensate employees for any additional costs incurred by them from having to work at home (such as heat, light, water etc).
Charities in this position can point their staff in this position to a new microsite set up by HMRC to enable them to claim tax relief on those costs. For most staff, this amounts to £62 for the tax year 2020/21. More detail is given in Help for Individuals and Workers, below.
16. Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay and Leave
Working parents who lose a child under the age of 18 will receive two weeks’ statutory leave and
Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay, where the death occurred on or after 6 April 2020.
More details can be found here.
Employers can reclaim up to 103% of the cost. More details can be found here.
17. COVID-19: Charity governance issues
Charity Commission guidance to the charity sector covers a number of issues of interest to churches and charities during the period of the pandemic, including:
…and more.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) has produced a guide that highlights a number of key issues arising from COVID-19 that may require consideration in connection with trustees’ annual reports and accounts for charities.
It is aimed particularly at preparers of a charity’s reports and accounts, and the trustees (who are ultimately responsible for them and therefore need to understand the potential impact of COVID-19 in this context). It is therefore highly recommended reading!
18. Protection from eviction by landlord for non payment of rent
The Coronavirus Act 2020, s82, provides that forfeiture of business tenancies for non-payment of rent cannot be enforced within the period 26 March 2020 to 30 June 2021.
The Act defines “rent” as being any sum a tenant is liable to pay under the lease, which includes service charges and insurance rent contributions.
For charities, this can be a relief or a burden! Those of whom are renting property and unable to pay their rent, landlords will not be able to evict them. Of course, the opposite is true: if your charity has tenants that rent property from you, you will also not be able to take enforcement action. In all cases, the rent still falls due and will need to be paid at a later date.
Similar restrictions prevent landlords from using the Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (CRAR) process until 30 June 2021.
The law in this area is fairly complex. Law firm Pinsent Masons has produced a useful summary of the current position during the pandemic.
Government Code of Practice and Template Form
The Government has published a code of practice to encourage commercial tenants and landlords to work together to protect viable businesses and map out plans for economic recovery. The code is voluntary in nature and is relevant for all commercial leases held by businesses which have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
It encourages tenants to continue to pay their rent in full if they are in a position to do so and advises that others should pay what they can, whilst acknowledging that landlords should provide support to businesses if they too are able to do so. It encourages landlord and tenant to be transparent in their discussions and to act reasonably and responsibly whilst recognising the impact that coronavirus has had on business finances, and to encourage best practice so that every part of the chain is supported.
A new Annex to the guidance, published in April 2021, can be used to aid discussions and negotiations about rent, rent arrears and on-going lease terms. A template form is provided with the objectives of:
19. Gift Aid and the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme
HMRC has since explained that churches should take a common sense approach. For example, if A attends church regularly and puts £10 per week in an envelope in the offering and after a lockdown period puts £10 x the number of weeks in lockdown in an envelope, this is likely to amount to a series of small cash donations rather than a lump sum donation. This is especially so if the church member notes this on the envelope. It will fall within GASDS. On the other hand, if B only attends church at the annual Christmas Day service and puts £50 in an envelope in the offering, this would not qualify for GASDS. HMRC recognises that it cannot police these matters and therefore expects church treasurers and trustees to take a reasonable and responsible approach.
Churches are of course best advised to encourage taxpaying donors to set up standing orders or other forms of digital giving and sign a Gift Aid declaration in the normal way.
“HMRC does not have any statutory discretion to extend filing deadlines and in any case, we think it is likely that most tax-payers will be able to file their returns and/or claims on time. However, if a charity is unable to file a tax return on time or submit a claim, and this is because of the impact of COVID-19, HMRC will consider this in line with the normal ‘reasonable excuse’ process.”
The message therefore, is if you are likely to have problems, contact HMRC as early as possible and keep copies of any correspondence (including email) and make a written record of any telephone conversations noting the date of the call and the name of the HMRC officer concerned.
20. Deferring payments of tax due
There are several schemes available to charities who will have difficulty meeting their tax payment
obligations:
VAT originally due for the period 20 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 which has been deferred is due for payment before 31 March 2021. However, those who deferred this VAT payment and who ‘opt-in’, will be able to spread payment of the deferred VAT over a period to the end of March 2022. This is to avoid businesses facing large bills for their deferred VAT just as the economy is recovering. To facilitate this, businesses will be able to make 11 interest-free smaller repayments in the 12 months to 31 March 2022.
This ‘‘VAT Deferral New Payment Scheme (VDNPS)’ requires a direct debit to be set up as part of the digital opt-in process and this must be done by the authorised bank account holder. Because of that, HMRC is unable to provide an agent service for the scheme. The online service for opting in is open between 23 February and 21 June 2021. More details can be found here.
HMRC say that those businesses that can pay their deferred VAT should still do so by 31 March 2021.
The number of instalments that can be paid under the VDNPS depends on the date that the scheme is joined:
If you join by: Number of instalments available to you
19 March 2021 11
21 April 2021 10
19 May 2021 9
21 June 2021 8
Instalments eligible for the VDNPS are interest free.
It is very important to note that there is no deferral available for VAT payments falling due from 1 July 2020 onwards. If there is any difficulty in meeting these VAT payments, a ‘time to pay’ arrangement should be agreed with HMRC.
21. Guidance for employers and businesses during COVID-19
The Government has published a series of Guidance Notes on creating a COVID Secure workplace. These cover (amongst others) outdoor work, offices and contact centres, people working in, visiting or delivering to other people’s homes, restaurants offering takeaway or delivery services and shops. Each guide gives summary advice to follow to protect employees and customers, whilst continuing to operate. This includes social distancing, hygiene, cleanliness, staff sickness advice and staying at home.
Employers are reminded of their legal duty to protect the health and safety of their employees, workers and volunteers. General guidance on making a work place COVID-19 secure, published by the HSE can be found here and in links from that page.
22. Business Rates Relief (England; see separate guidance for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
Business Rates Relief can, potentially, apply to charity shops, coffee shops and certain trading subsidiaries of churches and charities that are subject to business rates, even if they qualify for charity relief from those rates.
It applies to properties wholly or mainly used for (amongst other things) shops, restaurants, cafés, drinking establishments, cinemas, live music venues, assembly and leisure, hotels, guest and boarding premises.
Business rates relief is available at 100% for the rating year 2020/21 and until 30 June 2021. From 1 July 2021 until 31 March 2022 the relief is set at 66%. There is no upper limit on rateable value. Where a charity receives 80% mandatory relief and no discretionary relief, this relief can cover the remaining 20%.
Charities that qualify for mandatory 80% rates relief still qualify for these grants even if they
also receive 20% discretionary rates relief.
Example (charity shop with rateable value of £40,000)
Gross rates (before any reliefs) = £40,000 x 0.512 £20,480
Net rates after mandatory charity relief (80% discount): £4,096
Expanded Retail Discount (100% from 01/04/21 to 30/06/21), £4,096 x 91/365 (1,021)
Expanded Retail Discount (66% from 01/07/21 to 31/03/22), £4,096 x 0.66 x 274/365 (2,029)
Rates due (after charity relief and Expanded Retail Discount): £1,045
The relief is administered by each local authority and should be paid automatically. There is only need to contact the LA if a church or charity considers that they should qualify and don’t receive the relief.
23. Coronavirus, contracts: cancellation and refunds (including for weddings)
The Competition and Markets Authority (‘CMA’) has published useful guidance on the subject of consumer facing businesses responsibilities where contracts are cancelled because of the pandemic. Churches and other venues should be aware of expectations in this area in respect of weddings, conferences, children’s nursery places and the like.
The guidance explains how the law operates in this area and is designed to help consumers understand their rights and to help businesses treat their customers fairly.
More recently, the CMA published its guidance on cancellations and refunds due to COVID-19 by wedding companies together with an open letter to wedding providers and its agreement with Bijou Weddings Group.
For completeness, on 7 May 2020, the Cabinet Office published “Guidance on responsible contractual behaviour in the performance and enforcement of contracts impacted by the Covid-19 emergency”. The Guidance is non-statutory and covers issues in very broad terms. Somewhat repetitively it asks contracting parties to act “responsibly and fairly”. Nevertheless, it is worth being aware where negotiation is needed on a contract impacted by COVID-19. Whilst being non-statutory, parties that choose to ignore it risk reputational damage going forwards.
24. Business Rates: Empty Property Relief
Charities liable to business rates but who are unable to benefit from the business rates relief for retail etc premises, above, should give consideration to a claim for Empty Property Relief where this results from Government instructions to close the premises.
25. COVID-19 Small Business Grant Fund (‘SBGF’)
The SBGF is available to businesses in England in receipt of either Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rates Relief giving rise to a payment of £10,000. However, as charities benefit from 80% mandatory rates relief (and in come cases and additional 20% discretionary relief), they do not qualify for SBGF.
However, the Government announced (2 May 2020) a Top Up to Local Business Grant Funds Scheme. This is a discretionary fund to accommodate certain small businesses otherwise outside the scope of the SBGF. Funds will be provided to local authorities for them to use locally on a discretionary basis to assist small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs. The Government is asking local authorities to prioritise, amongst others, small charity properties that would meet the criteria for Small Business Rates Relief.
More details can be found here and here (with particular reference to Paragraph 24).
26. Risk of fraud and cybercrime against charities during COVID-19
The Government has once again warned that fraudsters are exploiting the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in order to carry out fraud and cybercrime. Police have reported an increase in COVID-19-related scams. They state that all charities, but especially those providing services and supporting local communities during the COVID-19 crisis, could be targeted by fraudsters.
The Alert gives examples of the types of fraud circulating, protection measures that can be taken and how to report fraud and cybercrime to the relevant authorities.
27. Support for Pastors and Church Leaders
FIEC has been presenting a series of webinars entitled Leadership in Lockdown. Amongst up and coming subjects, they are intending on covering the huge increase in mental health issues, including amongst church leaders, that has resulted from lockdown and coronavirus restrictions.
To browse these webinars, visit the Leadership In Lockdown web page.
Prior to Covid, churches would, not uncommonly, invite speakers and others from overseas to take part in church activities. Equally pastors and others in England may receive invites to speak abroad.
Other than very limited exemptions, no person may leave England to travel to a destination outside of the United Kingdom or travel to, or be present at, an embarkation point for the purpose of travel to a destination outside of the United Kingdom unless they have a ‘reasonable excuse’. Examples of reasonable excuses are set out in law. The reasonable excuses listed include where it is ‘reasonably necessary’ to travel for:
and in the case of the first two bullets, it is not reasonably possible to undertake these activities in the UK.
Travelling to a destination in the common travel area (as defined in section 1(3) of the Immigration Act 1971) is also permitted.
Where travel is permitted, completion of a travel declaration form is required.
Contravention of the travel restrictions is subject to a fixed penalty of £5,000. Contravention of the travel declaration requirements is subject to a penalty of £200.
Guidance on the current rules for UK citizens:
Travel advice: coronavirus (COVID-19) (FCO and FCDO advice)
National lockdown: Stay at Home – International Travel (England)
Travelling and transport from 27 March 2021 (Wales)
Help for self-employed Christian Missionaries and other Christian Workers
Christian workers who are self employed and rely on raising their own support will ordinarily be
liable to income tax on funds raised because of their Christian work.
1. Self Employed Income Support Scheme and welfare benefits for the self employed
Continuing businesses
For the self-employed that have lost income as a result of COVID-19, the SEISS provides a series of taxable grants. In Budget 2021, the Government extended the scheme to September 2021 by adding a fifth grant (more details below).
The Scheme is targeted at those who, due to COVID-19, are either:
Claimants must also declare that they:
Applications for earlier grants are now closed. Details of the fourth and now, fifth grant are as follows:
Fourth grant: This will be worth 80% of three months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment and capped at £7,500 in total. The grant covers the period February 2021 to April 2021. Self-employed individuals must have filed a 2019-20 Self Assessment tax return by 2 March 2021 to be eligible. This means that individuals who were new to self-employment in 2019-20 are eligible for the SEISS grants for the first time.
Fifth grant: A fifth and final SEISS grant will cover the period May to September 2021. The rules are amended and the value of the grant will be determined by a turnover test, to ensure that support is targeted at those who need it the most as the economy reopens.
Where turnover has fallen by 30% or more, the full grant, worth 80% of three months’ average trading profits and capped at £7,500, will continue to be paid. However, where turnover has fallen by less than 30% the grant will be reduced to a 30% grant, capped at £2,850. The final grant will be able to be claimed from late July. Further details will be published in due course.
Fourth SEISS detailed grant eligibility
To be eligible for the fourth SEISS grant, self-employed individuals must:
Claims
HMRC will contact those that they believe are eligible for the fourth grant from mid-April. This will be via email, letter or SMS and will include a personal claim date. Claims can be made from the date given, from late April until the claims service closes on 1 June 2021. Any claims made before the personal claim date will not be processed.
From mid-April, HMRC will also contact previous SEISS claimants that are no longer eligible due to either:
Claimants will need to log in to their Government Gateway account with their User ID and password. If you do not have a Government Gateway account (for example, because you are newly self-employed), you should create one as soon as possible in order to avoid delaying your claim. Follow the instructions on GOV.UK to do this. You should also check that your contact details are correct in your Government Gateway account.
To confirm eligibility and make a claim, you will need:
HMRC will also ask for your address that your bank or building society account is registered to.
Note that it is not possible for a tax agent to claim the grant on your behalf. Doing so will trigger a fraud alert and will delay the claim being paid.
New SEISS claimants
If you are claiming a SEISS grant for the first time, you may be asked additional questions to prove your identity. Questions could relate to your:
You should ensure you have this information ready when making your claim as it may be delayed if you cannot answer the identity verification questions.
Record keeping
You are required to keep appropriate records as evidence of the impact of COVID-19 on their business.
Caring responsibilities
If you are unable to work because you have additional caring responsibilities due to school closures, and you meet all other conditions, you are eligible to claim under the SEISS, provided you reasonably believe that the impact of taking this time off will significantly reduce your trading profits for the year.
Other forms of work
Claiming under the SEISS does not prevent you from:
But you must declare that you intend to continue to trade.
SEISS and Universal Credit
Where a person has claimed Universal Credit (UC) and a SEISS grant, the SEISS grant should be reported to DWP in the month the grant is paid and may affect the amount of UC received.
Fraud risk
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided opportunities for fraudsters to prey on unsuspecting members of the public and the SEIS is no exception. If you receive any suspicious texts, calls or emails claiming to be from HMRC these may well be scams and you should let HMRC know.
Closed businesses and SEISS grant overpayments
If a business has ceased business or was paid more than it was entitled to under the Scheme, there is a requirement to notify HMRC. Penalties may be charged for late notifications. You must tell them within 90 days of receiving the grant.
More details can be found here.
HMRC has started writing to previous SEISS claimants where they need to make further checks on eligibility after processing 2019-20 Self Assessment returns.
Working hours
The Government has confirmed that people who cannot work their normal hours because of coronavirus (COVID-19) will still receive their usual tax credits payments. Note: this applies to both the self employed and employed workers who have been furloughed.
More information can be found here.
Uplift in tax credits during COVID-19
As has been widely reported, in order to support the country during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Government temporarily increased the basic element of Working Tax Credit by £1,045 to £3,040 from 6 April 2020. The amount of the benefit depends on the claimant’s circumstances, including their level of household income but will be up to an extra £20 each week. This support is due to end on 5 April 2021.
The Government announced in the March 2021 Budget that a working household in receipt of tax credits may be eligible for a new one-off payment of £500. This is being introduced to provide extra support when the above temporary increase ends in April.
Claimants will be eligible if, on 2 March 2021, they were getting either:
There is no need to contact HMRC or apply for the payment. HMRC will contact claimants by text message or letter in April to confirm eligibility. Payment should be received direct to bank accounts by 23 April 2021 but they will not show on the online tax credit service.
Legislation is being introduced in Finance Bill 2020 to exempt the tax credit uplift payments from income tax. Furthermore, they will not effect benefits. There is no need for them to be declared as income for Self Assessment tax returns or for tax credit claims and renewals.
HMRC has updated its guidance on working out your income for new and renewed tax credit claims. It makes clear that ‘income’ for tax credit purposes should exclude income from:
This guidance explains how to work out wages, self-employment income and other income.
DWP has published a guide on how to report your earnings from self employment for Universal Credit purposes.
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced a suspension of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for self-employed Universal Credit claimants until the end of April 2021. This suspension has now been extended until 31 July 2021.
The MIF is used as a substitute for actual earnings for UC claimants where their actual earnings are below the MIF. This means that for many people on a very low income, the amount of their UC is lower than would otherwise be. More detail on this can be found on the Money Saving Expert website. The further suspension of the MIF to take account of the impact of COVID-19 is a welcome move.
2. Protection from eviction from rented and mortgaged accommodation
Support for people in rented accommodation
Regulations in force until at least 31 May2021 require landlords to give tenants six months’ notice (three months’ if notice was served between 26 March and 28 August 2020) of their intention to seek possession of rented property (i.e. serve notice that they want to end the tenancy).
This protection covers most tenants in the private and social rented sectors in England and Wales, and all grounds of evictions except in the most serious circumstances such as anti-social behaviour, fraud and arrears greater than six months’ rent. It includes possession of tenancies in the Rent Act 1977, the Housing Act 1985, the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Act 1988.
The Government has also made clear that where tenants do experience financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic, landlords and tenants should work together and exhaust all possible options, such as flexible payment plans which take into account a tenant’s individual circumstances, to ensure cases only end up in court as an absolute last resort.
Further Regulations prevent the enforcement of evictions (other than in limited circumstances) until 31 May 2021. Circumstances where evictions can still be enforced are cases where the court is satisfied that:
The government will consider the best approach to move away from emergency protections from the beginning of June, taking into account public health advice and the wider roadmap.
Detailed information on the various protections for people in rented accommodation can be found in the documents linked on the following pages:
COVID-19 and renting: guidance for landlords, tenants and local authorities
Understanding the possession action process: guidance for landlords and tenants
and in the House of Commons Briefing Paper 8867 ‘Coronavirus: Support for landlords and tenants’
Mortgage repayment support
The suspension of housing possession cases also applies to possession cases brought by mortgagees against homeowners until 1 April 2021 (this may be extended), and to possession cases brought by landlords against leaseholders (forfeiture).
A mortgage payment holiday facility is open to 31 March 2021. However, all payment holidays must end by 31 July 2021. Borrowers, including those with a Buy to Let mortgage, who have been impacted by Coronavirus and have not yet had a mortgage payment holiday will be entitled to a six-month holiday, and those that have already started a mortgage payment holiday will be able to top up to six months without this being recorded on their credit file.
If a borrower is newly affected by coronavirus, application should be made as soon as possible and before the end of March, in order to benefit up to the end of July 2021.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been clear that for borrowers who have taken 6 months’ holiday and continue to face ongoing financial difficulties, lenders should continue to provide support through tailored forbearance options. This could include granting new mortgage payment holidays. Mortgage customers in this situation should speak to their lender to discuss their options.
If a landlord is concerned about their financial situation they should discuss this with their lender.
Guidance
The Government has published a series of Guidance notes, including:
Financial Conduct Authority:
Churches as landlords of rented accommodation
Churches who let out residential property for investment purposes may also find themselves in the position of not receiving rent due as a result of tenants’ income being affected by the pandemic. The Government has produced several guides for landlords:
Clearly, these cover legal and practical issues but not the pastoral issues or reputational issues for the church in the community that may arise.
Help for Individuals and Workers
From 28 September 2020, people in England are required by law to self-isolate if they test positive for coronavirus or are contacted by NHS Test and Trace.
If someone or another member of their household has symptoms of coronavirus, they should, as now, isolate immediately. If someone receives a positive test result, they are now required by law to self-isolate for the period ending 10 days after displaying symptoms or after the date of the test, if they did not have symptoms. Other members of their household must self-isolate for the period ending 14 days after symptom onset, or after the date of the initial person’s positive test.
If someone is instructed to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, because they have had close contact with someone outside their household who has tested positive, they are legally required to self-isolate for the period notified by NHS Test and Trace. Both household and non-household contacts must self-isolate for the full period, regardless of whether they have symptoms and, if they develop symptoms and take a test, regardless of whether any test taken gives a negative result.
The legal obligation to self-isolate will afford specific exemptions including for those who need to escape from illness or harm during their isolation, and those that require care.
Users of the official NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app are anonymous and cannot be forced to self-isolate nor can local authorities identify them if they are not self-isolating. The app advises users to self-isolate if they have come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. The Government makes it clear that users should follow that advice to protect their loved ones and stop the spread of the virus.
A new £500 ‘Test and Trace Support Payment’ for those on lower incomes who cannot work from home, will be payable through Local Authorities. The scheme provides backdated payments for those eligible persons who are told to self isolate from 28 September.
Individuals will receive this payment on top of any Statutory Sick Pay or benefits they receive. The criteria for self-isolation payment is that the person:
Councils will also have discretion to make payments to those who don’t receive the qualifying benefits, but are on a low income and could suffer financial hardship as a result of not being able to work.
There are fines for those breaking the rules which start at £1,000 and increase up to £10,000 for repeat offences and the most serious breaches, including for those preventing others from self-isolating.
Employers who force or allow staff to come to work when they should be self-isolating will also be liable for fines of up to £10,000.
2. Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare
Eligibility during the COVID-19 pandemic
There are temporary changes to the eligibility criteria for Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare during coronavirus. The changes may affect you if you, or someone you live with, are temporarily working less and are either:
If you are not currently working
You may still be eligible if your partner is working, and you get Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance or contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance.
You can apply if you’re starting or re-starting work within the next 31 days
Income limits: Critical workers
If you or your partner have an expected ‘adjusted net income’ over £100,000 in the current tax year you will not be eligible. This includes any bonuses you expect to get.
You or your partner can earn up to £150,000 in the current tax year and still be eligible if you’re a critical worker and have worked extra hours because of coronavirus.
3. Help for low-income families with seriously ill or disabled children
The Government has announced over £37 million of funding to help low-income families with seriously ill or disabled children with the cost of equipment, goods or services. Of the total amount, £10 million has been committed to the unique difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, helping parents educate and look after disabled or critically ill children who are staying at home more than usual.
Families with children that have complex needs and disabilities will be eligible for grants through Family Fund for vital equipment to make their lives easier while implementing social distancing measures, including computers, specialist equipment and educational toys.
4. Tax relief for working from home due to COVID-19
Employed persons who are working from home because they have been required to do so as a result of COVID-19 and who have incurred additional costs at home such as gas, electricity, telephone, (metered) water etc, can claim tax relief on these additional costs if their employer has not reimbursed them. Given that many charities are suffering significant falls in income as a result of COVID-19, meaning that they are unable to reimburse any of these costs, this could be a valuable relief.
How much can be claimed?
From 6 April 2020, HMRC accept that £6 per week can be claimed as additional costs without the need to provide any evidence of those costs. Prior to 6 April, the figure was £4.
If your additional costs amount to more than £6 per week, tax relief on a higher amount can be claimed but you will need evidence such as receipts, bills or contracts.
For simplicity, most people will want to claim the £6 flat rate. This amounts to £62 for the tax year 2020/21 for basic rate taxpayers and £125 for higher rate taxpayers.
What if you work part time, or go back to your workplace?
For 2020/21 only, HMRC has confirmed that everyone will be able to claim £6 per week for the whole of the tax year. This is so regardless of the fact that you may be part time, only required to work at home on certain days of the week, or return to the office prior to the end of the tax year. This is because HMRC recognise the fluidity of the current situation and do not want to be inundated with enquiries over relatively small claims.
How do I claim?
If you complete a self assessment tax return each year, you should claim this on your SA return [Section 20 of the full SA return, or Section 2.5 of the short form SA return]. If you do not usually complete a self assessment return, you can claim online from here. You need a Government Gateway user ID and password. You can create a user ID if you do not already have one.
Creating a Government Gateway ID takes about 10 minutes and you will need your National Insurance number and a recent payslip or P60 or a valid UK passport.
In all cases, you should claim additional expenses of £6 x £52 = £312 unless you are prepared to justify a higher amount.
What about 2019/20?
Many people were required to work at home because of COVID-19 prior to 6 April 2020. In this case, you can only claim for the period that you were required to work at home until 5 April 2020 at the rate of £4 per week (unless of course, you are prepared to justify a higher amount).
The Government recognises that employees who joined a Cycle to Work Scheme could not have reasonably foreseen the changes to their working pattern as a result of the COVID-19.
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury has therefore announced a time limited relaxation to the rules which prevents employees from having to potentially pay a tax charge. Scheme members who have been provided with a cycle or cycling equipment on or before 20 December 2020, will not have to meet the ‘qualifying journeys’ condition of their employer provided cycle scheme until 5 April 2022. This condition requires employees to use the cycle or equipment mainly for qualifying journeys which broadly means journeys between home and a workplace.
Employees who join a scheme from 21 December 2020 will need to meet all the normal conditions of their Cycle to Work Scheme.
6. HMRC advice on giving up employment or investment income during COVID-19
HMRC is urging people to check the tax rules on waiving income or donating to charity. It is aimed at those who choose to give up some of their income to support their business or donate to charity during the COVID-19 pandemic. In some cases, in order to keep the business going, it may not possible to furlough all staff. It may, therefore, be necessary for directors and staff to consider taking a pay cut and a waiver of salary is one way to achieve this.
There is a right way and a wrong way to do these things! The guidance should help avoid a situation where tax and national insurance is still payable even though the waived income is never received. It covers salaries, bonuses and dividends that are either waived or paid back after receipt.
7. Scams: Scammers taking advantage of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
HMRC is reporting that, so far, they have detected more than 70 COVID-19-related financial scams, and have asked Internet Service Providers to take down over 400 web pages associated with these scams.
Mimicking government communications, one of the new scams says that it has ‘identified you as a candidate for the Key Worker Rebate’.
They are urging people to check GOV.UK for information on how to recognise genuine HMRC contact and how to avoid and report scams. Suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC should reported to: [email protected] Texts should be sent to 60599.
Other General Resources / Signposts
Stewardship is the operating name of Stewardship Services (UKET) Limited. Established in 1906.
Registered charity no. 234714, and a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 90305.
Registered office: 1 Lamb's Passage, London EC1Y 8AB
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