July Jobs Stimulus Plan – Employer Focus

Newly appointed Taoiseach Micheál Martin announced the July Stimulus package worth €5.2 billion which included 50 new measures to help businesses and in turn help with the recovery of our economy. The major measures introduced in this package are as follows:

• From September 1st the current Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), which is due to end on 31st August, will be replaced by the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS). This new scheme will run for 6 months until 31st March 2021. Under this scheme, employers and new firms in sectors impacted by Covid-19 whose turnover has fallen 30% will receive a flat-rate subsidy of up to €203 per week for each employee, including seasonal staff and new employees. 
• Employers will receive an incentive of €2,000 to take on apprentices in 2020 under the Apprenticeship Incentivisation Scheme.
• If an employer hires an employee under the age of 30 who is on the Live Register or the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, a recruitment subsidy of up to €7,500 over two years will be available under the JobsPlus Scheme.
• Legislation will be passed to confirm that businesses affected by Covid-19 can delay payment of their PAYE and VAT debts in part or in full for a particular period without collecting interest or penalties.
• The standard rate of VAT will be cut by 2% for a 6 month period commencing September 2020, reducing the rate to 21%.
• A new Stay and Spend Incentive has been introduced, any taxpayer spending over €625 on accommodation and meals including non-alcoholic beverages between October 2020 and April 2021 can claim back up to €125 through a tax credit.
• Changes have been made to the existing Cycle to Work scheme. The new allowance of €1,250 has increased by €250 from the old rate of €1,000 to promote expenditure on cycling. The allowance has increased by €500 to €1,500 for electric bikes. The existing period to avail of the scheme of five years is being reduced to four years.

Posted byDebbie ClarkeinCoronavirus

Annual Leave and COVID-19 - Your Questions Answered

COVID-19 has presented countless challenges to every kind of business you can imagine. Whether you’re in retail or construction, banking or manufacturing, navigating the current circumstances while trying to keep your business afloat has been the cause of much confusion, frustration and anxiety. And one of the most commonly cited points of debate has been how the pandemic does or doesn’t affect annual leave for employees, and how employers should handle this moving forward.

These concerns aren’t unwarranted. There have been significant changes to how businesses can and in many cases, must, grant annual leave to employees. Understandably, many employers and managers are worried about denying employees their statutory rights and any potential circumstances arising from that.

So, with those concerns in mind, here’s everything you need to know about annual leave and COVID-19.

1. Do Employees Continue To Accrue Annual Leave?

Yes, and no. Employees who have been laid-off as a result of the pandemic will continue to accrue public holidays as normal that occur during the first 13 weeks. However, they will not accrue annual leave during the period of lay-off. Employees working short-time will continue to accrue leave for the hours they work.

The annual leave that employees accrue up until the point of being laid off will remain intact and employers should not pay employees in lieu of this annual leave. Instead, it should be made available to the employee to take once they return to work.

Given the exceptional circumstances that we are currently living in, it could well be the case that an employee genuinely cannot take their accrued annual leave this year. If this situation arises employers should try to be flexible in terms of allowing an employee to carry over leave into the next calendar year.

2. Do Employees Have To Take Annual Leave During Lay-Off?

Many employers are asking that their employees take annual leave while they can’t work during the lock-down period. However, some employees are resisting this and employers are wondering if they are within their rights to require that their staff take their holidays now.

Although employees have a statutory right to take any annual leave accrued, they can only take these holidays at a time that suits their employer. This rule is in place to avoid all employees taking their holidays at the one time, or during particularly busy periods (such as Christmas time for retail businesses). As such, employers can ask their staff to take their annual leave during lockdown as this ensures that they will be available to work when the business reopens.

However, it is advisable that employers try to be as accommodating as possible in this regard. Annual leave is typically used to rest and relax, often on holidays abroad. As this option isn’t available to employees who are cocooning/shielding, it could be prudent to allow those employees to take their holidays later in the year when they have more flexibility to enjoy them, where possible.

3. Can Statutory Annual Leave Be Carried Over To Next Year?

Yes. Given the extraordinary circumstances in which we all find ourselves now, employers should be as flexible and accommodating as possible when it comes to carrying over annual leave into 2021.

4. What If I’m Ready To Re-open My Business, But My Employee Wants To Take Annual Leave?

If your employee has holidays accrued, then he or she is entitled to take those holidays. However, as the employer you do have discretion when it comes to when your employees can take their holidays.

If, for example, you are in the retail industry and are expecting high levels of traffic in your premises once you reopen, then you can choose to have more staff than usual on the shop floor at a time in order to meet high customer demand. In this case, you can refuse holiday requests for this time as you have a sincere need to have all employees available for work.

At the end of the day, it is your choice when you allow your employees to take their holidays. While it’s important to be as accommodating as possible in order to maintain positive relationships with staff, if you need them to be available for work you are within your rights to ask them to take their holidays later in the year.

Keep Up-To-Date on the Latest COVID-19 Guidelines for Employers

At Thesaurus Software we know how important it is to keep abreast of the most recent developments when it comes to COVID-19, especially as we navigate unchartered territories together. That’s why we’re holding regular webinars to share with you all news relating to Revenue updates, what employers need to know and how you can make sure you’re complying with best practices at all times.

Register for our upcoming webinar where we cover everything from important COVID-19 payroll updates to return to work government policies.

To receive email notification letting you know when we’re holding our next webinar, sign-up to our mailing list and ensure you don’t miss out on the latest updates for your business.

Posted bySarah TyrrellinAnnual LeaveCoronavirus

Everything You Need To Know About TWSS & Maternity Leave

The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) is available to employers who may need financial support from the state in order to continue paying their employees as a result of COVID-19. For many employers and payroll professionals, this has been a confusing time with Revenue updating their guidance and releasing more information on the scheme every few days. Here, we’ve stripped all of the information down to everything you need to know in terms of employees returning from maternity leave.

TWSS And Maternity Leave

A recent change to rules regarding the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme takes into account employees who have returned or are due to return to work following a period of maternity leave, adoptive leave or related unpaid leave.

As per the scheme rules, if an employee was not paid in either January or February 2020, then typically, they do not qualify for the subsidy scheme. However, this latest change means that employees returning from maternity leave are now eligible and treated consistently with other employees who were on the payroll on the 29th of February.

This is a broadly welcomed change as it is only because of the personal circumstances relating to maternity and adoptive leave that resulted in these employees not being on the payroll in the first instance.

Employers who wish to avail of the Wage Subsidy Scheme for employees returning from maternity leave will need to complete a simple form for each relevant employee, and this form is available for download via myEnquiries on ROS.

Revenue will check DEASP data to ensure the employee was in receipt of the maternity benefit. Revenue will then calculate the Net Weekly Pay for each relevant employee and will provide the information on an updated TWSS file. This information will ensure that the correct wage subsidy can be calculated and paid to the employee.

The subsidy will be backdated to the date of recommencement of employment or from the 26th of March 2020, whichever is the latest date and this will be processed in due course. However, if the employee was in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, no retrospection will apply as the employee was already in receipt of income support payments from DEASP.

These changes also apply to employees who were not on their employer’s payroll on 29 February 2020 and who were:

• on a period of adoptive, paternity, parental or related unpaid leave
• in receipt of Health and Safety Benefit, Parent’s Benefit or Illness Benefit paid by the DEASP

A more recent update confirmed that apprentices that were on training in February now qualify for the scheme. This is also done by the employer submitting the form in myEnquires which will then prompt an updated TWSS file.

Keep Up-To-Date With The Latest Advice on TWSS

Interested in finding out more about recent changes to the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme? Register for our free webinar where we explore the key changes to the scheme, the payroll implications or rehiring employees and employee’s annual leave entitlements during COVID-19.

Posted bySarah TyrrellinCoronavirus

3 Important Changes to the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme

Most employers are now either aware or availing of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. However, as the economy slowly recovers and many businesses reopen their doors, new changes to the scheme have been introduced to facilitate the transition. It’s essential that employers in particular keep up to date with these changes so that they know best how to manage their payroll as they bring employees back to work. 

3 Updates To The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme

Here are the recent changes to the scheme that employers need to be aware of:

1. Employees that were on maternity, adoptive, paternity or parental leave or directly related unpaid leave, in receipt of Health & Safety Benefit, Parent’s Benefit or Illness Benefit are now eligible for the scheme. Employers who wish to avail of the Wage Subsidy Scheme for any of these employees will need to complete a simple form for each relevant employee, and this form is available for download via myEnquiries on ROS. Revenue will check DEASP data to ensure the employee was in receipt of the DEASP payment, such as maternity benefit etc. Revenue will then calculate the Net Weekly Pay for each relevant employee and will provide the information on an updated TWSS file. This updated TWSS file will need to be downloaded and re-imported into the payroll software. The subsidy will be backdated to the date of recommencement of employment or from the 26th of March 2020, whichever is the latest date.
2. It has been confirmed that apprentices that were on training in February and as a result were not on their employer’s payroll in February now qualify for the scheme. This is also done by the employer submitting the form in myEnquires which will then prompt an updated TWSS file.
3. Revenue has decided to place all recipients of the Wage Subsidy Scheme and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment on a week one/month one basis. Revenue have issued RPNs to reflect the week one/month one basis, and it applies to all those that are/have been in receipt of those payments. 

Don’t miss out on the latest updates - Join our Free Webinars

At BrightPay we know how important it is to keep on top of the most recent developments when it comes to COVID-19. That’s why we’re holding regular webinars to share with you all news relating to Revenue updates, what employers need to know and how you can make sure you’re complying with best practices at all times.

Click here to watch our previous webinars on-demand, where we cover everything from important COVID-19 payroll updates to return to work government advice and more.

To receive email notifications letting you know when we’re holding our next webinar, sign-up to our mailing list and ensure you don’t miss out on the latest updates for your business.

Posted bySarah TyrrellinCoronavirus

7 Steps To Returning To Work After COVID-19

On the 9th of May 2020, the Government published the Return to Work Safely Protocol. This sets out a number of measures that workplaces must take in order to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace as we reopen our economy.

The Health Service Authority (HSA) has responsibility for ensuring that employers are following the protocol and preparing and putting systems and controls in place. They will also be carrying out workplace inspections to ensure the Protocol is being implemented. Their approach is very much supportive.

At 29 pages long, the Protocol is quite a comprehensive document and there is a lot to take in, particularly for a small employer. So, we’re breaking it down and pulling out the key points that you need to be aware of moving forward. 

The Protocol sets out a number of steps for employers and workers to reduce risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace. 

1. Lead Worker Representative

Each workplace must appoint at least one lead worker representative, who along with management will have responsibility for ensuring that COVID-19 preventative measures are adhered to. The Protocol very much promotes collaboration between the employer and employees, and having a Lead Worker Representative is very much key to having everybody working off the same page. For transparency and openness, it is also recommended that you create a log of everyone in your business who has COVID-19 responsibilities – that might be for cleaning or dealing with suspected cases. Download Template: Lead Worker Representative Log

2. Review Risk Assessment & Health & Safety Policies

In order to create a COVID-19 Response Plan that is specific to your business, you will need to complete a risk assessment. Look at how and where the virus could be transmitted in your workplace, and from that, you’ll learn what control measures you need to take  to minimise these risks. If there is a change to how work is being carried out in your workplace then you will need to review your Health & Safety policies. 

3. Develop a COVID-19 Response Plan

The next mandatory point is that all workplaces must develop a COVID-19 Response Plan. This is best thought of as a comprehensive catch-all document that deals with all points of relevance relating to COVID-19 and the workplace in one place. The Protocol specifically sets out the information you must include in your Response Plan, and this includes:

• Stating how you will deal with a suspected case of COVID-19 in your workplace. You should appoint one employee with responsibility for dealing with suspected cases. You must have a designated isolation area to accommodate someone who may have contracted the virus. The idea being that you have a sterile environment where the employee can go if they are unable to go home straight away.
• You will need to reference cleaning & hygiene. State how frequently your common areas and frequently touched surfaces are being cleaned. Have you provided sufficient hand washing / sanitisation facilities?
• Reference the measures you have taken to ensure physical distancing. You will need to show how the 2 metre physical distance will be adhered to.
• There is a strong onus on employers to keep staff informed and updated, not only on what is happening in your workplace or site but on public health advice in general. That will include displaying signs in the workplace, but also sending government updates and links.
• Employees have a responsibility here too; they must ensure that they are keeping up-to-date and abiding by the preventative measures being put in place. So, it is important to set out the employees responsibilities in writing in the Response Plan as a reference point.
• Mental health is specifically referenced in the Protocol. You will need to reference and discuss how you are supporting employees through this very challenging time.

Bright Contracts has been updated with a template COVID-19 response plan which has been written closely following HSA guidelines and checklists.

4. Complete Pre-Return to Work Forms

A pre-return to work form must be completed by employees at least 3 days before they return to work. There are a number of prescribed questions that must be answered. The form allows employees to self-certify that they do not have COVID-19 symptoms or have not been in close contact with any confirmed or suspected cases over the last 14 days. You can get a return to work form template from the HSA website.

In communicating with employees upon their return to work, it would also be advisable to establish whether or not they might be considered as a vulnerable worker. There is a HSE webpage that sets out who high risk groups are, you might consider sending this to employees and asking them to notify you if they fall into any of the categories. If they do fall into a vulnerable category you do have a duty of care to take extra precautions to protect that individual.

5. Provide COVID-19 Induction Training for All Staff

Upon returning to work all employees must be given COVID-19 induction training. At a minimum, this training should include:

• Up-to-date advice and guidance on public health.
• Details on what a worker should do if they develop symptoms of COVID-19.
• Information on what steps the business is taking to address the risk of COVID-19.
• An outline of the COVID-19 response plan. 
• Any other relevant sector specific advice. 

The training doesn’t have to be overly complicated and you should consider giving this training yourself. If you have a well put together COVID-19 Response Plan, this could double up as your training material for staff. Be sure to keep a record that the training has taken place and note who has attended. If you have any new starters in the coming months, they also should be given the training. 

6. Keep a Log of Group Work

You should keep a log of all close contact, group work and employee interactions that take place. The logic behind this initiative is to be able to assist with contract tracing, should it be required.

7. Review Other Company Policies

Finally, when you’ve done all of the above you may want to look at reviewing and updating some of your existing policies. For example your Sick Leave Policy should really be updated to reflect COVID-19 - the protocol specifically requires employers to review and revise their existing sick leave policies. You might also want to consider putting in place a Working from Home policy if that is the norm in your company, or updating the Annual Leave and Mental Health policies.  

Keep Up-To-Date With the Latest Advice on Returning to Work

Interested in finding out more about Returning Staff to Work? Click here to watch our most recent webinar on-demand where we discuss the Return to Work Safely Protocol, common questions on the practicalities of bringing staff back to work and the payroll implications of returning staff to work.

To receive email notification letting you know when we’re holding our next webinar, sign-up to our mailing list and ensure you don’t miss out on the latest updates for your business.

Posted bySarah TyrrellinCoronavirus

The Road to COVID-19 Recovery - The Return to Work Safely Protocol

Join us on 9th June for a free COVID-19 webinar

This webinar will examine key facts & updated guidance on COVID-19 payroll impacts. Understand what the lockdown easing will mean for your business as you reopen and what COVID-19 safety policies you need to introduce.

Free Webinar: Register Now

Part 1: Important COVID-19 Payroll Updates

In recent months, Revenue have introduced COVID-19 Government schemes to help keep paying employees with a number of important updates being rolled out. The government has announced the first steps to ease the coronavirus restrictions with a roadmap in place for lockdown measures to be slowly lifted. Understand how to adapt your payroll processes to accommodate for the schemes and subsequent updates.

Agenda

• Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme
• The Payroll Implications of Rehiring Employees
• COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment 
• Managing Annual Leave during COVID-19

Part 2: Return to Work Safely Protocol

With the emergence from lockdown becoming clearer, businesses will need to start to put plans and COVID-19 policies in place for their employees to go back to the workplace safely. The Irish Government has introduced a Return to Work Safely Protocol for all businesses to follow. This introduces mandatory measures for organisations to take care of their people and safeguard their health and well-being.

All workplaces must adapt their workplace HR policies, procedures and practices to comply fully with the COVID-19 related public health protection measures identified as necessary by the HSE.

Agenda

• Returning Staff from Layoff
• Redundancy
• Return to Work Safely Protocol

Unable to attend?

If you are unable to attend the webinar at the specified time, simply register for the webinar anyway and we will send you the recording afterwards. You can also click here to view more webinar dates.

Posted byRachel HynesinCoronavirus

Thesaurus Customer Update: June 2020

Welcome to BrightPay's June update. Our most important news this month include:

• Returning Staff to Work

• Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme - Operational Phase

• How to download the Revenue Instruction from ROS

• Free Webinar: Important COVID-19 Payroll Updates & Return to Work Safely Policies

Return to Work Safely Protocol 

Rehiring Employees After Layoff - The Payroll Implications

Posted byKaren BennettinCoronavirusCustomer Update

The payroll implications of rehiring employees after layoff

Thousands of shops, businesses and construction sites have reopened as part of the first phase of the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. In terms of bringing staff back to work, employers should put in place a number of measures, as set out in The Government’s ‘Return to Work Safely Protocol’.

Many businesses are now able to re-engage their staff that had previously been placed on layoff. If an employee was laid off and their employment ceased as a result of COVID-19, and the employer now wishes to place this employee back on the payroll, the employee will qualify for the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme if their DEASP claim is ceased. However, employees must have had a pay date in February and have been included in submissions between 1 February 2020 and 30 March 2020 under the same PPS number to qualify.

Rehired Employees & TWSS Files

During the operational phase of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, Revenue are providing all employers with details of the maximum subsidy and maximum top-up for all their employees. This Revenue instruction is in the form of a TWSS file, which was made available to employers on ROS from 4 May 2020.

Where an employee was rehired after 1 May 2020, they were not included in the initial TWSS file, and so J9 submissions for employees rehired after 1 May were processed but rejected for refunding.

From 18 May, the TWSS file now includes rehired employees that were included in an RPN between 2 May 2020 and 17 May 2020, provided the employee was on the employer's payroll on 29 February 2020 with the same PPS number.

From 21 May, Revenue will refresh the TWSS files daily to include rehired employees that have been notified to Revenue and to update the date on the file to reflect when it was refreshed. To be included in this refresh, employers must ensure that the rehired employees are on the payroll and an RPN has been received the day before the employer calculates and submits the first payroll payment to Revenue for the rehired employees. Revenue are currently developing a notification process that will inform employers when a refreshed TWSS file is available to download.

Additional Resource: We have created a template letter that employers can use for employees who are returning from layoff or short-time working.

BrightPay Payroll Software | Thesaurus Payroll Software

Posted byRachel HynesinCoronavirus

COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment

If your employer cannot continue to pay you and has to lay you off during the pandemic, you can claim income support from the DEASP. The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment is available to employees and the self-employed who have lost their job on (or after) 13th March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Pandemic Unemployment Payment is paid at a flat rate of €350 per week for the duration of the pandemic emergency.

You can apply for the payment if you are aged between 18 and 66 and have lost your employment due to the coronavirus restrictions. Students, non-EEA nationals and part-time workers can apply for the payment. You can also apply if you were working casually and you became fully unemployed as a result of the pandemic.

If you have voluntarily taken time off work to look after your child because of school or childcare closures and you are no longer paid by your employer, you can apply for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. 

You cannot claim the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, if you are continuing to get income from your employment or if you voluntarily left your employment, except to look after your children.

If an employee has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or has been told to self-isolate by their GP, they should instead apply for Illness Benefit, which has also been increased to €350 a week in line with the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.

Join us for a free COVID-19 webinar where we discuss what you need to know about remote working, putting staff on payoff, the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme.

Places are limited - Click here to book your place now.

Posted byRachel HynesinCoronavirus

Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme - Operational Phase

The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme enters the operational phase on 4th May 2020.

In the operational phase, Revenue will provide all employers with details of the maximum subsidy and maximum top up for all employees currently on a J9 PRSI class and for any employees who might be placed on a J9 class during the remainder of the scheme.

This Revenue instruction will be in the form of a file (TWSS file) downloaded from ROS. It will not be an automatic download through the software but instead will require you to log in to your ROS account and download the file there. It will operate in much the same way as you would have downloaded P2C files in the past. The software will then import this file and update the subsidies of all J9 employees automatically.

This TWSS file will be available in ROS from 4th May and we will be releasing an upgrade to our software on the same day to cater for importing the TWSS file.

As the 4th May is a bank holiday, our support lines will be open on 5th May but we have plenty of on screen help and would ask that you only contact support if absolutely necessary.

This should be a one time download as the figures in the downloaded file will be based on payroll submissions made for January and February.

To ensure that you will be able to download the file, it is important that you know your ROS login certificate password and you should ensure that you have this to hand.

For your information, a preview of the relevant ROS screens can be viewed here.

Posted byPaul ByrneinCoronavirus