On Monday 13 April 2020, the High Court released its judgment in the United Kingdom’s first case relating to the government’s recently announced Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”).

The case considered the use of the CJRS by the Administrators of Carluccio’s Limited (“Carluccio’s”). Due to Carluccio’s being in administration, it was heard by the High Court as a matter of urgency.

The case raised several important points because the government had only outlined the CJRS in broad terms, nor has it detailed the way the CJRS interacts with existing insolvency legislation.

This blog deals with the administration and insolvency issues as well as the employment law implications regarding employees impliedly consenting to changes to their terms of employment.

Facts

• Carluccio’s entered administration subsequent to the imposition of the government’s ‘lockdown’ measures aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19.
• The Administrators’ current strategy is to “mothball” Carluccio’s whilst it seeks a buyer. As part of this strategy the Administrators wish to retain its employees and claim for their wages through the CJRS.
• Carluccio’s has no money with which to pay the continuing wages of its employees. If Carluccio’s cannot take advantage of the CJRS and in turn limit its liability for wages to the amount it would be able to obtain under the scheme, the Administrators would be forced to make the workforce redundant.
• The Administrators made an offer to place the employees on furlough under the CJRS. The “overwhelming majority of employees” accepted the offer, a “handful” indicated that
  

Summary

Key points arising out of the revised guidance and the legislative framework include:

1. Eligibility cut-off date extended from 28 February to 19 March: This is the most significant change to the UK Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) guidance. It brings into scope many new recruits who previously could not be furloughed. Earlier versions of the guidance said that new recruits who joined after 28 February were excluded from the scheme. However, the latest guidance now says that individuals put on the employer’s payroll on or before 19 March, and in respect of whom the employer has also made an RTI submission to HMRC on or before 19 March, can be furloughed.

It may well be that employers have already taken action to terminate new recruits who, according to previous versions of the guidance couldn’t be furloughed. Employers still have the option to rehire these individuals and then furlough them, if they wish to do so.

2. Requirement for employer/employee agreement: the legislative underpin for the CJRS (the ‘CJRS Direction’) has now also been published and says that to be furloughed, the employer and employee must agree in writing that the employee will cease all work. This conflicts with the guidance, where the employer only has to confirm in writing that the employee has been furloughed, not that the employee has agreed to cease working. The best evidence of employee agreement is express confirmation from the employee that they agree to the furlough letter terms (which include the

Our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation colleagues have recently drafted an article on how the CARES Act limits executive compensation for U.S. businesses participating in CESA relief . Please click here for the full article: https://benefitsbclp.com/covid-19-cares-act-limits-executive-compensation-for-u-s-businesses-participating-in-cesa-relief/.

Summary

As an update to our 27 March blog “Coronavirus: UK Job Retention Scheme – further government guidance”, the UK government has revised its online guidance to provide more information on how the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) operates. A number of points have been clarified, whilst some important issues have still not been addressed.

The following CJRS points have been clarified:

Who can be furloughed?

Clarifications on who can be furloughed include:

• Terminated and rehired staff: employees who were terminated on or after 28 February, whether or not for redundancy, can be furloughed, providing the employer rehires them. Previously the guidance only talked about those who were made redundant;
• Carers/shielding employees: employees who are unable to work from home because they have caring responsibilities, or because they are shielding in line with public health guidance, are expressly covered;
• Insolvency: employees of a company which is in administration may be furloughed, although the government expects administrators to only access the CJRS if there is a reasonable likelihood of rehiring them; and
• Non-employees: whilst we already knew that non-employees such as agency workers who are paid through PAYE could be furloughed, the updated guidance highlights that company directors and salaried members of LLPs are also covered, as are apprentices.

What elements of staff remuneration can be reclaimed?

• Fees, commission and bonuses: previously the guidance said these aspects of remuneration could not be part of the remuneration that could be reclaimed. However, the guidance now provides that
  

Following tense negotiations throughout last week, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act” or “Act”) became law on March 27, 2020.  The CARES Act represents the third Phase of Congressional relief responding to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  Phase I (Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-123)) and Phase II (Families First Coronavirus Response Act (P.L. 116-127)) were signed into law on March 6 and 18, respectively.   At 883 pages, the CARES Act is the largest relief bill in U.S. history and addresses on multiple fronts the hardships faced by individuals and businesses throughout this crisis.  These efforts include an unprecedented expansion of unemployment benefits, significant funding for the health care industry, aid to large and small businesses valued in the billions, and even direct payments to individuals.

The majority of economic relief provisions for U.S. workers and employers is provided in Titles I through IV of Division A of the Act (Division B consists of emergency appropriations to fund various program). The CARES Act also has specific provisions regarding relief for airlines, financial institutions, and other sectors that are considered critical to national security.  Titles I through IV of Division A of the CARES Act is are described in relevant part below.

Title I – Keeping American Workers Paid and Employed Act

Title I of the CARES Act provides relief through employee paycheck protections, loan forgiveness, and small business contracting relief.  The Act enables the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) to provide

Summary

As an update to our earlier blog “Coronavirus: UK Job Retention Scheme – what we know so far from the UK government’s 20 March 2020 announcement”, please see below for further details.

Analysis of updated government guidance in relation to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (as at 27 March 2020) >

As we explore ways to manage through these difficult economic times, employers who are looking for ways to assist employees who have seen their compensation reduced or former employees whose jobs have been temporarily eliminated due to the impact of the coronavirus quarantine may want to consider making interest-free loans available to those employees as a way to assist them economically during this difficult period.

Click here to read the Alert in full.

Summary

As an update to our earlier blog “Coronavirus – UK job retention scheme”, we have analysed the Retention Scheme announced by the UK government on 20 March 2020, based on the information released so far.

Analysis of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (as at 20 March 2020) >

As an update to our earlier blog “Coronavirus – update on UK government measures in relation to employee absences and statutory sick pay”, set out below is a brief overview of the key measures that have, today, been announced by the UK government in relation to employees.

• Employers will be provided with a grant to cover 80% of the salary (up to £2,500 per month) of employees who are not able to work, so that they can be furloughed, rather than dismissed. Employers can choose to top this up if they wish.
• These grants will be backdated to 1 March 2020 and will be available for at least 3 months.
• There will be no limit on the amount of funding under the scheme and the first grants are expected to be paid within weeks.
• Additional measures have also been announced, including the business interruption scheme being interest-free for 12 months rather than 6 months, and VAT payments being deferred to the next quarter.

Summary

The extension of the UK off-payroll working rules to private sector clients, due to take effect from April 2020, has been delayed by one year. This follows growing calls from businesses and business leaders given the difficult and uncertain times faced by many in light of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a huge relief for many contractors and businesses but it is just a postponement. The extra time should be used wisely to prepare for the changes; given the year-long extension it is unlikely that HMRC’s promise not to be ‘heavy handed’ on penalties during the first year of IR35 will stand.

The delay may, however, put some in a difficult position. If, in anticipation of the new rules coming into force, it has already been determined by a private sector client that a relationship would be one of employer/employee if the intermediary was not involved, the intermediary (in most cases the contractor’s PSC) should seriously consider operating PAYE and account to HMRC for employer/employee NICs and employee income tax accordingly. HMRC previously stated that it will not carry out targeted campaigns into earlier tax years where a client determines that a worker would be an employee if engaged directly by the client. However, HMRC may see things differently if a determination has been made in relation to the current working arrangements, in anticipation of the new rules coming into force, and that determination is now ignored. Some contracts may also already have been re-negotiated on the basis of