Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updated Government Guidance
The Government has recently published guidance on whether HMRC can publish claims by employers under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the current approach to apprenticeships during the national lockdown.
Can Employers Request That HMRC Does Not Publish Claim Details Under the CJRS?
On 13 January 2021, the Government updated the relevant guidance on the publication of any claims made by employers under the CJRS by HMRC. The aim of HMRC in publicising such claims is to encourage transparency, to deter fraudulent claims by employers and avoid employers abusing the scheme. However, the guidance confirms that employers can request that their claims under the CJRS are not published.
In order to do this, employers have to demonstrate that if their claims were published, this would lead to a serious risk of violence or intimidation to certain individuals which include:
- employers that are individuals (employers or any employees of the employer)
- employers that are companies (directors, officers or employees of that company)
- employers that are partnerships (partner, officer or employee of that partnership)
- employers that are LLPs (member or employee of that LLP)
- trustees of a trust (settlor, trustee or beneficiary of the trust)
- any individual living with any of the above
When making such an application to HMRC, employers need to provide their relevant details (government gateway user ID and password, PAYE reference number, business name and contact details) along with evidence in support of their application. This evidence needs to include any relevant documentation to show that the concerned individuals are in danger and to provide any documentary evidence of an attack such as photos or a police incident number.
The guidance states that the employer must make these applications themselves and applications cannot be made by an agent or anyone else. Details of any claims will not be published by HMRC until a decision has been made about the application and the employer has been informed. HMRC will make decisions on all claim periods from 1 December 2020 onwards. Employers should be aware that the revised guidance has confirmed that a list of employer names will be published on gov.uk on 26 January 2021.
HMRC will also publish employer names, details about the value of the claim and company numbers (for companies and LLPS) on a monthly basis from February this year and the banded ranges include claims as small as £1 to claims in excess of £100,000,001. If employers want to avoid being on the list being published on 26 January 2021, they need to submit applications to HMRC imminently.
Government Updates in Relation to Apprenticeships in the National Lockdown
Following the Prime Minister's announcement on 4 January 2021 confirming a national lockdown, government guidance has been updated to state that training providers, employers and end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs) must ensure that training and assessment should take place remotely wherever possible. However, the guidance also states that face-to-face training and assessment can continue in:
- colleges and training providers' premises for vulnerable young apprentices (which includes 16 to 18 year olds who may have difficulty engaging with remote training and assessment at home which may be due to a lack of devices, connectivity or quiet places to study) and the children of key workers who need it
- employers' COVID-secure settings, but only where it is essential for workers to attend their workplace, and where it is safe and practical to do so
However, the guidance makes it clear that where face to face training and assessment continues onsite for vulnerable apprentices, it must be done in small groups, following a risk assessment, and with social distancing in place.
The guidance also states that end point assessment and functional skills assessments can continue in colleges, training providers' premises, assessment venues and workplaces where it cannot be conducted remotely and where providers and end-point assessment organisations judge it right to do so.
The guidance provides information on breaks in learning for apprentices, specifically if there is more than a four week break in an apprenticeship and if so, employers or training providers must report a formal break in learning which will suspend funding to the training provider for the duration of the break in learning. However, once possible, apprenticeships should resume.
For more information on the government guidance in relation to apprenticeships during this national lockdown including funding support for apprentices please see the latest government guidance.