Author: David Richardson

 

 

 

Today is another step towards reopening our office in Vermont House. Below are the McGinty Demack Office Details related to this reopening.
Since around the 9th March, some of our staff started to relocate and work from home. This ensured we were ready by the time the Government instituted lockdown measures on 23rd March.

Opening Times

Today, Monday 22nd June we are beginning a gradual return back to the office. This will be phased. So, initially we will open all day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week. There will be limited staff on site which will increase the times when books and records can be collected and dropped off. The majority of staff will remain working remotely in line with Governments advice.

Access

McGinty Demack Office Details also include making the office Covid-19 secure following our full risk assessment. To do this we have installed a door entry system to manage access into the building. Inside there is hand sanitising equipment and disinfectant wipes which are available to prevent the virus spread. If our initial steps remain successful and in line with the Government and industry guidance we will extend to include full weekly opening with more staff beginning to return to the office.

Like everyone else, we are all hoping to be able to make changes to relax the controls in place, so that we can return to a normal working environment. As we do, we will continue to update you through website posts and on social media.
As always we will do the upmost to support our clients during this period. So if you need any help with the services we provide please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Further to our recent Covid 19 support update we are issuing further Furlough Scheme New Rules information below:

On Friday evening six updated guidance notes were issued. For the new version of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme “CJRS” (Furloughed Workers). The Furlough Scheme New Rules are summarised below

Summary

• The first point to note is that any employee not furloughed for three weeks prior to the 1^st July will not be eligible for the new version of CJRS. The qualifying three weeks can be from any time between 1st March to 30th June
• We are used to claims being made up to 14 days in advance of pay day. Under the new CJRS the first claim for July can be made on 1^st July. This means you cannot make an advance claim in June for a July pay period. If you run a weekly or perhaps fortnightly pay period that falls in the first week of July, the business will need to cover the wage liability until the grant is received given the 6 day turnaround for payment.
• Under the Furlough Scheme New Rules, employees not previously furloughed cannot be placed on furlough leave and a claim made under the new CJRS, the cutoff date was 10^th The exception to this rule is employees coming back from parental leave, subject to them being on the company payroll at 19^thMarch 2020
• Claims from July are limited to a maximum number of employees per claim equal to the maximum employees submitted on a previous claim period.

This provision has come out of nowhere and no fuss has been made about it, but, is probably the most important.

• The final day for making a June CJRS claim is 31^st July 2020
• No NIC or pension can be claimed from August.
• The qualifying gross salary amount stays the same as we have previously been calculating, for most employees this will be based on their February 2020 payslip, average of 12 months’ pay or same period in 2019
• Claims from 1^st July will need to be made in the same monthly period. The claims should match with the payroll submission made to HMRC.

You can’t claim from 1^st July to 15^th August say, one claim up to 31^st July will need to be made and then 1^st August to 31^st August.

From the 1^st July the same rules still apply for employees not being able to carry out any work or promotion of the business whilst on furlough leave.

New Calculation – Flexi Furlough Gross Pay

From 1^st July employees can be bought back from furloughed leave for any number of hours. This can be in any working pattern to suit the business under the Furlough Scheme New Rules. For hours not worked, the employee can remain on furlough pay for those hours and the business can still make a CJRS claim.

Calculation of follows:

Gross monthly salary      £4,000, 80% or capped at £2,500

Normal weekly hours     37.5 (calculated on last pay period prior to 19^th March)

Monthly hours                  37.5 / 7 calendar days, multiply by calendar days in the month 31 = 166.07

Rounded up (always) 167 hours

Employee works 50% of normal hours – 83.5 paid at employee’s full pay = £4,000 x 50% = £2,000

Furlough pay = £2,500 x 83.5 then divided by total hours (167) = £1,250

Gross employee pay for the period = £3,250

Claim for CJRS = £1,250

New Calculation under the Furlough Scheme New Rules– Flexi Furlough Employer’s National Insurance

If the employment allowance of £4,000 has not yet been fully utiltised, this will need to be used up first before being able to claim any Employers NIC under the CJRS.

If the allowance has been utiltised, the following calculation applies:

NIC Monthly Threshold  £732

Total monthly hours       167 per gross pay workings

Furloughed hours            83.5 per gross pay workings

CJRS threshold                   £732 x 83.5 hours then divided by total hours (167) = £366

Furlough Gross Pay          £1,250

CJRS claim for NIC            £1,250 – £366 then multiplied by 13.8% = £121.99

New Calculation – Flexi Furlough Employer’s Pension

Under the Furlough Scheme New Rules ,we must use the lower level of qualifying earnings “LLQE” regardless of the pension scheme the business uses for their auto-enrolment scheme.

LLQE threshold                 £520

Total monthly hours       167 per gross pay workings

Furloughed hours            83.5 per gross pay workings

CJRS threshold                   £520 x 83.5 hours then divided by total hours (167) = £260

Furlough Gross Pay          £1,250

CJRS claim for NIC            £1,250 – £260 multiplied by 3% = £29.70

If you are on weekly pay, the above threshold amounts (£732 and £520) will need to divided first, by the calendar days in the month and then multiplied by the 7.

Fortnightly pay, the above threshold amounts (£732 and £520) will need to divided first, by the calendar days in the month and then multiplied by the 14.

Four weekly pay, the above threshold amounts (£732 and £520) will need to divided first, by the calendar days in the month and then multiplied by the 28. 

Phased Employer Contribution

Assuming the hours and amounts remain the same in the worked examples above:

July 2020                              HMRC will reimburse £1,250, £121.99 and £29.70 = £1,401.69

August 2020                        HMRC will reimburse £1,250

September 2020               HMRC will reimburse £1,093.75, employer tops up £156.25 to £1,250

No reimbursement for employer’s NIC or Pension

October 2020                     HMRC will reimburse £937.50, employer tops up £312.50 to £1,250

No reimbursement for employer’s NIC or Pension

If you have any questions about the Furlough Scheme New Rules, please do get in touch with the team. We are all here and happy to help.

Latest update coming shortly.

As we are now 10 weeks post lockdown, we are all getting used to a new normal. McGinty Demack commenced working from home from 17th March. This involved adopting new methods of working. Now we are planning our gradual return to the office. Please find our Covid 19 support update.

Working from home for us, like many of our clients who have been able to carry on working has been difficult, and at times challenging. We have all had to adapt to new ways of working, new environments and new technology. We have also had to quickly learn about all the new rules and regulations. Equally important is understanding the help available. So we have been focused on being best placed to help our clients on this. Our clients who have been forced to close have received some support from the government. In most cases, even if very limited, support  is through Universal Credit. However, they will in due course face the difficult task of re-opening with new rules and regulations to deal with.

Our Employees Perspective

Christine our payroll expert has given us her personal insight into the challenges she faced………..

“It was a request from the government to work from home if possible and therefore one I accepted even though it is not for me and has proved to be stressful and mentally challenging.

Clients have been on the whole understanding and very grateful for the help and advice offered to them. I have had many emails thanking me which is what makes my job worthwhile. 

I feel we have helped each other through these unprecedented times.  Dealing with the JRS and calculating furlough pay has also proved to be a challenge with many updates from HMRC and the calculations can be complex.

The processing of the claim to HMRC is relatively straight forward when you have all the information together. The main thing to be aware of is that the claim period must not overlap and therefore sometimes many calculations must be performed and then added together before the claim can be submitted.”

Business Support Available

As a practice we have done our bit to help clients through this difficult time. We are making no charge for the furlough claims we have done and submitted. We passionately want to help them survive this crisis.

The Self Employed grants have been slightly easier to navigate round. But we have seen some clients who have fallen between the cracks. This is because of business changes. In this instance they have been unable to obtain any support other than Universal Credit.

The Business Grants paid by the council have in the main been distributed and the councils do have some funding still available for Businesses that did not meet the criteria, these are more difficult to obtain and a business has to show that it has suffered hardship due to the COVID position – if you feel you meet this criteria then it is worth making an application to your local council.

The SE Scheme and the Furlough scheme (CJRS) have also been extended and new flexible arrangements have been introduced on the CJRS see our summary below

Please remember any money received is taxable and will need to be declared in your next accounts after the date you received the money.

Below is our Covid 19 support update

Self-Employed Income Support Scheme

The Chancellor recently announced updates to the furlough scheme.

• The self-employed income support scheme has been extended to a second and final grant for the 3 x months ending 31 August 2020. This will be paid in August 2020.
• It will only cover 70% of average monthly trading profits whereas the first grant covered 80%.
• We expect the claims process to be like the first time around.
• 30% of the self-employed who are eligible for the grant still haven’t claimed it, let us know if you’re struggling with yours.

Furlough Scheme Changes

From 01 August 2020 the government are going to start reducing the amount of financial support they are paying to businesses with furloughed staff.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-could-be-covered-by-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Further details on the changes will be published on mid June 2020.

Summary

• The furlough scheme has been extended to 31 October 2020.
• You can bring back furloughed staff part time from 01 July 2020. You’ll only pay for the hours that they work in the business.
• You must put an agreement in writing to access the part time hours furlough scheme.
• Detailed guidance will be issued on 12 June 2020.
• The furlough scheme is closing for new entrants on 30 June 2020.
• Anyone who wants to be on the scheme after that date must have been furloughed for at least 3 weeks prior to 30 June 2020, which would make the 10 June 2020 the cut-off date for furloughing your staff if you want to make a claim.
• A claim for these employees must be made on or before 31 July 2020.
• From 01 August 2020, government payments will start to reduce. They will no longer pay employers NI & employers pension, which you will need to cover.
• From 01 September 2020, the government will pay 70% of wages up to a cap of £2,187.50, with employers paying 10% up to a total pay of £2,500.
• From 01 October 2020, the government will pay 60% of wages up to a cap of £1,875, with employers paying 20% up to a total pay of £2,500.

So, please be very aware of the 10 June 2020 cut-off date, although it is very unlikely if you have not furloughed someone already you will need to now.

If you know anyone who you feel may benefit from this Covid 19 support update then please share it with them. For more information download our information brochure

For further information or help please email: info@mcgintydemack.co.uk or call: 01942322767

We have announced the result of our employee of the year award today. Congratulations to Alex.

Alex was voted on by all staff members based on ‘as a colleague’ criteria. Well done from all at McGinty Demack.

Wishing all our Staff Clients Suppliers and Friends a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.