T: 0131 341 4250|E: andrew@salonfrog.com
T: 0131 341 4250|E: andrew@salonfrog.com
Following months of closures, the majority of the hair and beauty industry has now reopened, which is great news. But with this comes a requirement for everyone to comply with the latest government guidelines. Government officials have warned the NHBF directly that they will close the hair and beauty sector if these guidelines aren’t followed.
In response, the NHBF has launched the #DoItRight campaign urging everyone to follow the health & safety measures required in England, Wales, Scotland and N Ireland to guard against spreading the virus.
Salonfrog is right behind this!
As well as keeping employees on furlough, you were able to bring them back on a part-time basis from 1 July 2020 and still claim the furlough grant for the time they weren’t working.
If you’re planning to have any employee remain on furlough (full or part-time) after July, you should think about the reasons why and also the increasing cost to you of doing so:
Don’t just kick the can down the road…
Your Salon is now open again and doing really well in these first few weeks, as Clients clamber over each other to get themselves spruced up after lockdown.
But the new ‘normal’ will soon be with us, and this could mean business as usual (as pre-lockdown) or a reduced demand (or somewhere in between).
With the continued requirement for PPE & sanitation unlikely to go away anytime soon, and possibly a change in your Clients’ behaviours (less cuts and colours per year?), we just don’t know what the ‘new normal’ will look like.
Anyway, it’s unlikely it’ll be as good as it is in these first few weeks of re-opening?
So it’s worth considering any of your staff still furloughed: if you don’t need them now, will you need them going forwards? Is it fair to keep them furloughed? Are you ok with the increasing cost of doing so? Or are you just putting the decision off?
It’s a tough thing to think about but something that needs to be done.
All the detail here:
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme | Furlough part 2: June->October 2020
If you are self employed, have property income, or otherwise asked by HMRC to pay 2 instalments each year towards you personal tax liability, then the next one is due by 31st July.
However, this time you have the option to defer this payment until 31 January 2021.
HMRC has confirmed that there’s no need to let them know either: they will assume the deferral option has been taken if no payment is received.
HMRC has confirmed that it will not charge interest or penalties on the deferred POA, provided it is paid in full by 31 January 2021.
So your options are:
• defer payment of your POA in full up until 31 January 2021
• pay your July POA as normal by 31 July 2020
• pay your POA any time between now and 31 January 2021 (either as one payment or in instalments).
From 1st July, salon owners can bring back employees on a part-time basis and still claim the furlough grant for under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – called CJRS v2.
Here we look at the ‘HR’ admin salon owners need to comply with:
Get it in writing
The salon owner needs each employee’s agreement to come back on a part-time basis and must confirm the arrangement in writing.
The new guidance says a “new” written agreement is needed.
Tax Journal says that:
“It’s not entirely clear if a letter amending an existing furlough agreement will comply or whether a completely new furlough agreement is required. The safest approach is to issue a new furlough agreement which sets out all the terms of flexible furlough.”
Can you change how much part-time they do later on?
Yes you can, since no minimum furlough period is required (under CJRS v1 it had to be a minimum of 3 weeks).
Tax Journal says that:
“The employer can enter into a flexible furlough arrangement with an employee more than once.
However, it’s likely to be administrative cumbersome as the employer would need to issue a “new” flexible furlough agreement each time and document the agreed flexible furlough arrangement.
Keep records of everything for 5 years, and in some cases for 6:
You must keep a written record of the furlough agreement for 5 years.
And you need to keep more information for six years:
(i) the number of actual hours an employee on flexible furlough has worked:
(ii) the number of hours the employee is furloughed (i.e. hours the employee is not working);
(iii) the amount claimed and the claim period for each employee;
(iv) the claim reference number;
(v) the calculations used when preparing claims; and
(vi) the “usual” hours of those on flexible furlough (including the calculations used to reach the figures).
Additionally, it’s suggest making a file note explaining any decisions taken in relation to furloughing employees.
Our thanks to Tax Journal for providing advice above.
From 1st July, salons can bring back employees on a part-time basis and still claim the furlough grant for under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – called CJRS v2.
Here we look at the rules on which employees you can do this with:
Scotland confirmed:
The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed today the move to the third phase of lockdown easing in a statement to the Scottish Parliament
Hairdressers and barbers can reopen from Wednesday 15th July subject to enhanced hygiene measures being in place.
Beauticians and nail salons can reopen on 22nd July.
Job Retention Bonus.
Today (8th July 2020) the Chancellor announced the introduction of the Job Retention Bonus.
This is a one-off payment of £1,000 for each employee brought back off the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and who remains continuously employed until 31 January 2021.
To be eligible, employees will need to:
Salons will be able to claim the bonus from February 2021 (i.e. after your January 2021 PAYE RTI has been submitted).
Mr Sunak said with more than nine million people currently still part of the furlough scheme the new policy could cost the Treasury £9 billion.
More information about this scheme will be available by 31 July and full guidance will be published in the Autumn. In other words, the devil might well be in the detail! But at the moment, it looks a promising additional bit of income for salons.
CJRS v2
Sunak also took the opportunity to confirm that the furlough scheme would definitely finish at the end of its current form “V2” on 31.10.20, saying: “Leaving the furlough scheme open forever gives people false hope that it will always be possible to return to the jobs they had before.”
So basically, you can furlough an employee until the end of October, then need to either bring them back or make them redundant.
There’s been quite a bit of confusion over whether you have to pay the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (NMW/NLW) to your staff during furlough.
The government has confirmed that:
We know what you’re thinking. Yes, it’s getting more complicated.
Companies House has temporarily extended a number of deadline – a temporary measure to help during Coronavirus.
(The Companies (Filing Requirements) (Temporary Modifications) Regulations 2020 (‘the regulations’) came into force on 27 June 2020).
Key points that we can see from this for Salon Owners are:
1. Year End Accounts
Companies House has now automatically extended the 9 month deadline to 12 months.
Initially, a 3-month filing extension had been announced from 25 March 2020 but which had to be claimed in advance.
This has now been modified, so from 27 June 2020, filing deadlines are automatically extended until 5 April 2021.
Details of each Company’s new filing deadline will now show on the Companies House website.
2. Confirmation statements
The current 14-day deadline is extended to 42 days.
3. Company Changes
“Event-driven filings” as they’re known (i.e. changes to your company) increase from the current 14-day deadline to 42 days.
Just to clarify the barrage of misinformation in social media around re-opening dates:
England
The earliest date salons and barbershops can reopen in England is still 4 July 2020. There has been no other confirmed date.
Scotland
No reopening date yet from Nicole for Scottish salons/barbershops. Still part of phase 3.
Training – all UK
Staff can come to the salon or barbershop for training before reopening but it must be confined to issues such as health & safety and new policies and procedures. For example, how the salon will work on re-opening, the sanitisation workflow etc.
Furloughed staff can take part in the training, but they must receive their normal full wage for this time training – ie 100% rather than 80%.
And to clarify, they do not have to be de-furloughed for the day – they remain technically furloughed.
And of course, social distancing must remain in place during the training.