Coronavirus news

Wednesday March 25, 2020

Monday 23rd March 2020

“You must stay at home” – Boris Johnson

Describing the coronavirus crisis as the “biggest threat this country has faced for decades” prime minister Boris Johnson has announced a complete UK lockdown for at least three weeks.

The latest Government advice regarding the lockdown is as follows:

You must stay at home. You can leave your home for the following very limited purposes:

• Shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible
• One form of exercise per day (alone or with members of your household) e.g. a run, walk or cycle.
• Any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person
• Travelling to and from work – only when this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home.

Additionally, you should not be meeting with friends or family members who do not live in your home. You should not be going shopping except for essentials like food and medicine, which should be as infrequently as possible. It has been advised to use food delivery services wherever possible.

Further closures and enforced social distancing

All non-essential shops, such as clothing and electronic stores, must now close. The same rules apply to other premises such as libraries, playgrounds, outdoor gyms and places of worship. Employers who have questions about managing employees during this difficult time should contact their local HR Dept.

All public gatherings of more than two people are no longer permitted. This excludes people from the same household. And there is now a ban on all social events including weddings, baptisms and other ceremonies but excluding funerals.
Parks will remain open for exercise, but gatherings will be dispersed. If rules are not being followed, the police have the power to intervene through fines and to disperse gatherings.

The measures will be reviewed in three weeks.

The prime minister signed off with a positive message that 7,500 former clinicians are returning to the NHS.


 

Friday 20th March 2020

The Government reveal ‘unprecedented’ economic intervention and new job retention scheme

Due to our close involvement with SMEs across various sectors, we have been hearing firsthand of the devastating impact that COVID-19 is having on businesses nationwide. Many emergency measures have already been put in place and it has been reported that, sadly, millions of people are likely to lose their jobs.

Enforced closures from today

To further slow the spread of coronavirus, the Government is closing all cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants from today, although they can continue to provide take away. Also closing will be nightclubs, theatres, cinemas and gyms. This decision is to be reviewed monthly.

Coronavirus job retention scheme

We are pleased to hear the announcement today that the Government is further stepping up its rescue response with an employment and wage subsidy package. The announcement comes one day after prime minister Boris Johnson spoke directly to employers saying, “stick by your employees because we will stick by you”.

We are expecting more details to be made available in the coming days but below is what we know so far:

• Coronavirus job retention scheme – any company will be eligible and can contact HMRC for a grant to cover most of the wages of people who are not working but kept on payroll. This means that workers can retain their jobs and be paid at least 80% of their salary. This is up to £2,500 per month but employers can top this up if they choose. The scheme is open for 3 months but will be extended if necessary and cover the cost of wages backdated to 1st March 2020. The first grants are expected to be made available in weeks and before the end of April.
• Coronavirus business interruption loan scheme – This will now be interest free for 12 months and loans will be available from Monday.
• Further cashflow support through the tax system – The next quarter of VAT payments are deferred. No business will pay VAT from now until the end of June and have until the end of the year to repay.
• Abolishing business rates for certain sectors – Business rates are abolished this year for businesses in hospitality, leisure and retail.
• Increasing universal credit and providing access to the self employed to pay SSP for their employees.

Advice on taking necessary steps

Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s message was clear “you will not face this alone”.

Whilst this support is significant, we understand that it may not be enough to keep everyone employed. Redundancies and lay-offs can be difficult but are sometimes necessary for a business to survive. The process of letting staff go, even for a temporary period, is complicated. And the added pressure of the coronavirus pandemic can make this even more strenuous. Our HR Dept professionals are here to offer their expertise and guide employers compliantly through the process.


 

Friday 20th March 2020

Schools remain open for vulnerable children and children of key workers

The Government has released guidance clarifying which children will still be permitted to attend school during the temporary national closures caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
To reduce the spread of coronavirus it has been advised that if children can stay safely at home, they should. But if vulnerable children and those whose parents’ jobs are critical to the COVID-19 response, are not able to stay safely at home, schools will remain open.

Vulnerable children – Children who are supported by social care, those with safeguarding and welfare needs, including child in need plans, on child protection plans, ‘looked after’ children, young carers, disabled children and those with education, health and care (EHC) plans.

Parents whose work is critical to the COVID-19 response include those who work in health and social care and in other key sectors outlined below. Many parents working in these sectors may be able to ensure their child is kept at home. And every child who can be safely cared for at home should be.

The following key principles are advised:

1. If it is at all possible for children to be at home, then they should be.
2. If a child needs specialist support, is vulnerable or has a parent who is a critical worker, then educational provision will be available for them.
3. Parents should not rely for childcare upon those who are advised to be in the stringent social distancing category such as grandparents, friends, or family members with underlying conditions.
4. Parents should also do everything they can to ensure children are not mixing socially in a way which can continue to spread the virus. They should observe the same social distancing principles as adults.
5. Residential special schools, boarding schools and special settings continue to care for children wherever possible.

If work is critical to the COVID-19 response, or the parent works in one of the critical sectors listed below, and the child cannot be kept safely at home, then these children will be prioritised for education provision:

Health and social care – This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, paramedics, social workers, care workers, and other frontline health and social care staff including volunteers; the support and specialist staff required to maintain the UK’s health and social care sector; those working as part of the health and social care supply chain, including producers and distributers of medicines and medical and personal protective equipment.

Education and childcare – This includes childcare, support and teaching staff, social workers and those specialist education professionals who must remain active during the COVID-19 response to deliver this approach.

Key public services – This includes those essential to the running of the justice system, religious staff, charities and workers delivering key frontline services, those responsible for the management of the deceased, and journalists and broadcasters who are providing public service broadcasting.

Local and national government – This only includes those administrative occupations essential to the effective delivery of the COVID-19 response, or delivering essential public services, such as the payment of benefits, including in government agencies and arms length bodies.

Food and other necessary goods – This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery, as well as those essential to the provision of other key goods (for example hygienic and veterinary medicines).

Public safety and national security – This includes police and support staff, Ministry of Defence civilians, contractor and armed forces personnel (those critical to the delivery of key defence and national security outputs and essential to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic), fire and rescue service employees (including support staff), National Crime Agency staff, those maintaining border security, prison and probation staff and other national security roles, including those overseas.

Transport – This includes those who will keep the air, water, road and rail passenger and freight transport modes operating during the COVID-19 response, including those working on transport systems through which supply chains pass.

Utilities, communication and financial services – This includes staff needed for essential financial services provision (including but not limited to workers in banks, building societies and financial market infrastructure), the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors (including sewerage), information technology and data infrastructure sector and primary industry supplies to continue during the COVID-19 response, as well as key staff working in the civil nuclear, chemicals, telecommunications (including but not limited to network operations, field engineering, call centre staff, IT and data infrastructure, 999 and 111 critical services), postal services and delivery, payments providers and waste disposal sectors.

If workers think they fall within the critical categories above, they should confirm with their employer that, based on their business continuity arrangements, their specific role is necessary for the continuation of this essential public service.
If a parents school is closed, then they should contact their local authority, who will seek to redirect them to a local school in their area that the child, or children, can attend.

This guidance was originally published on the Gov UK website.

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