COVID-19 UPDATE Expenses & Benefits, Childcare, Making Workplaces Safe

This month  has so far seen various new pieces of guidance from the government in the light of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.  Below we set out a summary  and provide access to the guidance for your information.

As ever, please do get in touch with any questions at all.

We hope you are all continuing to stay safe and well.

HMRC guidance about expenses and benefits

HMRC has published guidance about the income tax treatment of certain expenses and benefits provided to employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance covers the following areas: living accommodation; volunteer fuel and mileage costs; paying or refunding transport costs; free or subsidised meals; company car ‘availability’; salary sacrifice; employer-provided loans; employees working from home; and how to report these expenses and benefits to HMRC.

Click HERE to read the guidance.

HMRC guidance on tax-free childcare & 30 hours free childcare

HMRC has published new guidance aim at ensuring that critical workers can continue to access the childcare they need to enable them to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance covers the temporary changes that have been made to the eligibility criteria for tax-free childcare and 30 hours of free childcare.

The guidance also advises on the changes that may affect an individual if they, or someone they live with, are on furlough, not able to work or are working less, self-employed or a critical worker, including how to apply for these benefits.

Click HERE to read the guidance.

Government guidance – making workplaces safe on return to work

Following the Prime Minister’s address to the nation on 10 May in which he announced that the first step to modify lockdown measures was to actively encourage anyone who can’t work from home, for instance those in construction or manufacturing, to go to back work, a further set of guidance from the government designed to make workplaces as safe as possible and give people the confidence they need to return to work has been published.  The guidance comes in the form of eight specific guides, each covering a different workplace setting: construction and other outdoor work, factories, plants and warehouses, other people’s homes, labs and research facilities, offices and contact centres, restaurants offering takeaway or delivery, shops and branches and vehicles.

Click HERE to read the guidance.

Please get in touch if you have any questions regarding the issues discussed in this article.

E: enquiries@jma-hrlegal.co.uk / T: +44 (0)1252 821792