TSA Update 9 April 2020

We are lobbying on your behalf every day for more business support, and I think collectively the message is getting through, however the feedback we are receiving from the government is that they don’t know what else to do and are getting very nervous about the financial impact it is going to have for years to come. However, we will keep going and we have covered this in more detail under lobbying activity below.

We had our first virtual TSA Board Meeting yesterday (8 April), and I want to reassure you that the board is totally committed to working together on all fronts as one industry to get us all through this, there is a real comradeship between everyone which was fantastic to see.

We are all in this together and will come out of this crisis together.

The items below are again in no specific order, so please try and make sure you glance all the points.

LATEST GOVERNMENT UPDATE ON CORONAVIRUS JOB RETENTION SCHEME

The details of the scheme seem to be in place now and it is relatively easy to use:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

• Be aware that there is still uncertainty when employers will receive the refund for Furlough pay – for cash flow purposes would recommend you work on early May just in case.
• You must have in writing evidence that you have written to each Furloughed employee and this must be kept for five years.

OTHER DETAILS FROM THE SCHEME YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE OF:

Can Directors be Furloughed?

Yes – Directors can now be furloughed and are allowed to carry on with statutory obligations while furloughed – see more on the link above.

Can I have another paid job?

The government have now stated that pending your contracts allow (you may need to give permission) employees who have been furloughed are permitted to work for another employer.You should ensure they are available to return to work immediately.It is not clear how much they can earn and if they can earn more than they were previously earning, but the general consensus is that they should only take additional work to top up their earnings.

Training a Furloughed Employee

Furloughed employees can engage in training, as long as in undertaking the training the employee does not provide services to, or generate revenue for, or on behalf of their organisation. This could be useful if you have staff sat at home doing nothing.  They can be encouraged to do online soft skills training;

We have asked David Kinson our learning advisor to have a look at what is out there and Shyju is going to create a “Bedtime Reading” section on the website for some of the TSA archive material. We will circulate an update next week.

Apprentices and Job Retention Scheme

Apprentices can be furloughed in the same way as other employees and they can continue to train whilst furloughed, as long as it does not provide services to or generate revenue for their employer. Guidance is available for changes in apprenticeship learning arrangements because of COVID-19.

One of the main aspects of the English Apprenticeship is the off-the-job training. All off-the-job training must be directly relevant to the apprenticeship, but this can now be delivered more flexibly, including remote working. Employers may set employees training tasks when they’re working from home, but where these are not directly linked to the apprenticeship, it cannot be classed as off-the-job training.

Both the Apprenticeship Levy and Student Loans should continue to be paid as usual. Grants from the Job Retention Scheme do not cover these.

ESSENTIAL WORKER CERTIFICATION

Scheme is working well with very few challenges.  Remember to keep it up to date by emailing Emma if you need to add anyone or join it. There are now 1,953 essential workers from 51 companies on the register.

LOBBYING

• Keep up the local lobbying, so far TSA members have contacted 31 local MP’s with encouraging responses from 23.
• We are currently trying to target the lobbying in a more focused way, so we are to focus on several individual projects.
• Hospitality Grant – Doing an open letter next Tuesday and will circulate, this is asking why laundries are not eligible in England for the grant, but they are in Scotland. Would be worth over £5m if we are successful.
• Healthcare Uniforms – Should be washed in commercial laundries. Working with DMU to dispute the current guidelines published again this week stating that home washing at 30 degrees is OK.