The 海角视频 and Welsh governments have announced a raft of measures over the past two weeks to support the coronavirus hit business community.
But the speed of the rollout and the range of support measures has left some confusion.
Business Live asked Elissa Thursfield, head of employment law at Gamlins Law and director at HR Anchor, to answer some of the questions North Wales businesses have put to us in recent days.
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Richard Watkin, Fat Boar, Wrexham and Mold asked:
“I think the big one in our industry is about part time staff. Are they covered by the 80% wage option. We rely on our part time staff and need to look after them.”
Elissa said: "Yes, however part time staff on Furlough(under the Job Retention Scheme) cannot do any work for the business whilst they are on Furlough. We are waiting for concrete guidance on this but the view at this time is that it is Furlough or working, not both."
He added: "Can you get somebody to actually confirm if a pub with a ratable value of over 51k is exempt..as currently all literature I’m receiving / reading is still saying 51k and below?"
Welsh Government answered this one. They said: "The scheme aims to provide support for eligible occupied properties by offering a discount of 100% on the non-domestic rates bill for a property, to all eligible premises. The scheme will apply to all eligible ratepayers with a rateable value of £500,000 or less.
"Properties that will benefit from this relief will be occupied retail, leisure and hospitality properties – such as shops, pubs and restaurants, gyms, performance venues and hotels across Wales."
Simon Roxburgh asked:
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Do we have to be told to stop working to access this (wage subsidy) funding or if I choose to halt operations through my own volition can I then furlough my staff? How do we access this?
Elissa said: “You do not have to stop operations to access the funding. Furlough is available to assist with job retention.
“If you had staff that would ordinarily have been made redundant or laid off due to a reduction in work or financial reasons the scheme is to try and protect those jobs.
“Your business can still operate, but you should undertake a review of the staff that you have no work for or cannot afford to keep.
“Access will be through a HMRC portal which has not yet been released. It is a reimbursement scheme so you will have to pay the staff first whilst they are off and not working and then claim it back through the scheme.”
Chainbridge Hotel asked:
On employment for small firms like us that do their own payroll, how to actually make somebody furloughed, does it apply to all staff (lots of casual and part time in restaurants)?
Elissa said: “Currently we know it applies to employees, as the Government guidance is express on that point. Whether it applies to ‘workers’ or ‘casual’ staff is not yet clear.
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“Some commentary is suggesting that for those who have been working up until March 2020 they will be included and subject to a payslip review/averaging exercise to see how much they should be paid.
“It does not apply to the self-employed. In principle anyone going through your PAYE is likely to be eligible but we are waiting on confirmation of this.”
They also asked:
Also consideration for the long term - when we reopen occupancy will be poor (booking hotels ahead of time means reopening overnight you won’t be at full, or even decent occupancy) due to special circumstances does it have impact on maintaining contracted hours etc?
Elissa said: “When you re-open and occupancy is poor does it apply in the long term?
“The Furlough scheme (Job Retention Scheme) has been put in place for initially 3 months. The Government will confirm whether it is to be extended beyond that point, however there is no reason why people will not be able to stay in the scheme for the full period to account for difficulties with occupancy on re-opening.”
Does it impact on maintaining contracted hours?
Elissa said: "Employee’s contracted hours remain the same, despite the fact that they may be on Furlough. If you wish to change someone’s contracted hours you would have to consult with them and agree the change."
Should insurers be paying out for loss of earnings and stock?
Elissa said: "You would need to check your contract of insurance. Some contracts may have exclusion clauses for things like flood, natural disaster, pandemic and ‘act of god’ which may mean the pay-out will be limited or refused altogether."