Coronavirus: Wages, sick pay and time off explained
Coronavirus: Wages, sick pay and time off explained
(5 days later)
Most of the wages of employees who are not working and otherwise would have lost their jobs during the coronavirus outbreak are being covered by the government.
Struggling companies and self-employed workers have been offered financial help by the government, to help keep their businesses afloat and staff paid during the coronavirus outbreak.
Companies can receive grants to pay their workers 80% of their salaries - up to a limit of £2,500 a month.
But who will receive help and what happens when workers fall ill?
Employers have been urged not to cut jobs. Benefits payments are also to be increased.
Will my salary be paid?
A similar package is now in place for the self-employed.
If you work in the private sector, and pay tax through the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) system, your employer can put you on furlough - essentially, lay you off temporarily - by applying for a government grant to pay 80% of your gross salary up to a limit of £2,500 per month.
The intervention comes after people were told to work from home if they could.
Full- and part-time employees are eligible, as are those on agency, flexible or zero-hour contracts.
With schools shutting, parents are having to work more flexibly, and self-isolation puts more pressure on businesses who have staff coming in.
The typical full-time worker is paid £585 a week, about £2,340 a month, using a median average - the middle point of all workers.
Sick pay rules have been amended, and the self-employed will see their tax liabilities delayed.
It is hoped the grants, available through Revenue & Customs (HMRC) by the end of April, will stop big redundancy announcements.
Who will pay my wages?
The money will be backdated to March and the scheme will last at least three months.
If you are still employed but do not currently have work, the plan is that you will still get your wages.
What if I'm self-employed?
Your employer will be able to access grants, by the end of April, from the UK's tax authority to allow them to keep paying you.
If you are self-employed and have had a loss of income, you can receive a taxable grant of 80% of your average monthly profits over the past three years - up to a cap of £2,500 per month.
The typical worker is paid £585 a week, on a median average (which is the middle point of all workers), according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). That is about £2,340 a month.
Initially, this will be available for three months in one lump-sum payment, payable from June.
The government says 80% of gross wages in the private sector, up to £2,500 a month, for those not working and who would otherwise have been laid off will be covered by these grants from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
You can access the Coronavirus Self-employment Income Support Scheme as long as you traded in the past financial year, are still trading now and plan to continue doing so.
These will be backdated to March and the scheme will last three months at least. The idea is to prevent mass unemployment.
Most of your income needs to come from self-employment and your average trading profit needs to have been less than £50,000 a year.
Does the wages plan cover everyone?
If you became self-employed since April 2019, you will not receive any help under this scheme. This is because you haven't yet have filed a tax return, which is needed to help calculate financial support.
No, this is for those who are on the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) system.
HMRC will contact those who are eligible.
Self-employed people will receive support from another system.
What if the self-employed support scheme doesn't cover me?
Those on working-age benefits will see a more generous Universal Credit system, rising by about £20 a week for the next year. The same rise will be given to those still on the working tax credit system. The government says this will benefit more than four million of the lowest-income households.
You will have to try to claim benefits - such as universal credit and/or contribution-based employment and support allowance (ESA).
Public sector workers are not covered because most of them have their wages paid directly by the government.
In his recent Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said claimants could apply for ESA straight away, rather than waiting a week. He also temporarily removed the minimum income floor (MIF) criteria for self-employed people - which looked at how much people could expect to earn in a month to calculate levels of universal credit.
Not having the floor self-employed people not covered by the Coronavirus Self-employment Income Support Scheme can now access universal credit in full, to receive a payment equivalent to statutory sick pay (SSP).
The requirement to attend a job centre to apply for universal credit is also being relaxed - you will be able to apply on the phone or online.
Levels of benefit have also been increased temporarily.
What if I work in the public sector?
You should continue to work and have your wages paid as normal, even if you are home-working or have been told to work at another location temporarily.
What if I'm working from home?
What if I'm working from home?
Everyone who can work from home should do so. Working hours can still be clearly defined, and staff should receive their normal pay.
If you can work from home, you should do so. Working hours can still be clearly defined.
However, this puts various new responsibilities on an employer - for example, they are responsible for equipment they supply, and must say what it should be used for.
Employers still have a duty of care and are responsible for any equipment they give you. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) has set out guidance.
The question of who covers the running costs should ideally be outlined as soon as possible, as should how any extra expenses should be covered.
What if I need to look after my children or a sick relative?
An employer has a duty of care for staff, even if they are working at home.
If you are an employee, your employer must give you time off in an emergency. But you might not get paid - it depends on the terms of your work contract.
The requirements of the health and safety legislation apply to homeworkers too, according to the employment conciliation service Acas, which has set out guidance for employers and employees.
However, many bosses during this period are allowing parents to work flexibly, to try to manage both work and childcare.
Will I get paid if I need to look after my children?
Will I be paid if I have to self-isolate or I am sick?
When your children's school is closed, or if you have a relative who is ill, your employer must give you time off to look after them.
If you are an employee, any sick pay you may receive will depend on where you work.
But your employer is not forced to pay you unless your contract requires it.
Some workers' contracts offer full pay to those off ill - albeit for a limited time.
However, many employers are allowing parents to work flexibly, to try to manage both work and childcare.
If that time runs out, or if you don't get paid sick leave in the first place, you should receive statutory sick pay (SSP).
Key workers, who have been defined by the government, can still send children to school or nursery.
The money - set at £94.25 a week - is paid by employers for up to 28 weeks. So if you are self-employed, you will not be eligible - but if you are a casual or agency worker, you will be.
Will I get paid if I have to self-isolate?
To receive SSP you need to be earning at least £118 a week. The Office for National Statistics estimates there are 1,766,000 adult jobs in the UK that pay less than that amount - although some people will earn money from several jobs over the course of a week.
You may do through sick pay which varies from company to company.
SSP can now be claimed from a person's first day away from work, rather than the fourth day as before.
Many employees will have contracts that allow them their normal pay while they are unable to work because they are sick.
Anyone claiming should be able to get a sick note from the NHS's 111 service rather than their GP.
Even where people do not get their fully paid sick leave, or if they work in jobs where they do not have contractual sick leave, there may be minimum payments they can rely on, known as statutory sick pay.
What is statutory sick pay?
Statutory sick pay (SSP) is money paid by employers, so self-employed workers are not eligible, but casual or agency workers are.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said that SSP would be paid to people who need to be off as they or their family have symptoms. People should be able to obtain a sick note from the NHS 111 service rather than getting one from a GP.
The rules were also changed so that those people would be eligible for SSP on their first day away from work, instead of having to wait until the fourth day as used to be the case.
He also announced that businesses with fewer than 250 employees would be able to claim back from the government two weeks of SSP paid to staff affected by coronavirus.
How much is statutory sick pay?
It is set at £94.25 a week, although of course employers could pay more if they want to.
To get SSP people need to be earning at least £118 a week. Many people such as those on zero-hours contracts - who work variable hours every week - may earn less than this. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has calculated that there are two million workers who are not eligible for SSP.
We asked the Office for National Statistics to check this figure and they estimated that there were 1,766,000 jobs done by adults in the UK that paid less than £118 a week.
The number of people involved is likely to be somewhat lower than this because one person could have more than one of these jobs. And indeed, if somebody has more than one of these jobs it could take them above the £118 a week needed to qualify.
About 70% of these jobs are done by women.
What is the support for self-employed people?
For self-employed people who have suffered a loss in income, a taxable grant will be paid worth 80% of their average monthly profits over the last three years - up to a cap of £2,500 per month.
Initially, this will be available for three months in one lump-sum payment, and will start to be paid from June.
It will be called the Coronavirus Self-employment Income Support Scheme, and is open to those who were trading in the last financial year, are still trading now, and planning to continue doing so this year.
However, not all the self-employed are eligible.
What about access to benefits?
Meanwhile, the government has said it will make it "quicker and easier" for self-employed people seeing a sudden drop in income to access benefits.
The chancellor said that those on contributory employment and support allowance (ESA) will be able to claim from day one, instead of day eight.
He has removed the minimum income floor. The minimum income floor would have taken into account how much they would normally expect to earn in a month when calculating their entitlement to universal credit.
Not having the floor means they will be able to claim for time they spend off work due to sickness.
It means self-employed people not covered by the specific scheme can now access, in full, universal credit at a rate equivalent to SSP for employees.
Mr Sunak said they would not need to attend a job centre and could apply on the phone or online instead.
The government has also announced a new £500m fund to support economically vulnerable people, which will be allocated by local authorities.
Update: This piece was first published on 6 March and has been updated to reflect changes announced since.
Update: This piece was first published on 6 March and has been updated to reflect changes announced since.
