Dains Webinar Supports Businesses Through Easing Out Of Lockdown Phase

Dains hosted an interactive webinar to help businesses through the months ahead as we enter the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dated: 30 July 2020 Author: Richard McNeilly, Managing Partner 

The ‘Easing Out Of Lockdown’ seminar, in partnership with Keelys Solicitors, discussed the tax and legal implications of workforce management, focusing on updates to the Job Retention (Furlough) Scheme and redundancy.

Dains Managing Partner Richard McNeilly introduced the webinar which was attended by professionals from businesses across the UK.

During the session, Dains Employment Services Senior Manager James Hunt provided an insight into changes to the Job Retention Scheme and the furlough claims process.

He also highlighted the complexities of the scheme and the importance of making sure calculations are correct so businesses avoid any unwanted financial HMRC penalties further down the line.

Looking ahead, James talked through the Job Retention Bonus Scheme where businesses will receive a £1,000 payment for each  employee they bring back from furlough, if they retain them permanently from November 2020 to January 2021.

Paul Roberts, Head of Employment Law at Keelys Solicitors, then addressed the subject of Employment Law challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a short poll conducted with attendees before the webinar, 42% said their business is planning to make redundancies, 31% said they aren’t planning to make redundancies and 27% said they aren’t sure if they are making redundancies.

As well as talking through the redundancy process, Paul shared some alternatives to redundancies that firms could consider such as job sharing, short term working, retirement and career breaks.

Richard said: “As we enter the next phase of the pandemic, it’s crucial that businesses plan ahead and managing employees and workforces will be an essential part of that process.

“The Job Retention Scheme continues to evolve and this was an opportunity to update businesses on different elements of the scheme such as ‘flexible furlough’ and the Job Retention Bonus Scheme which can help businesses to retain staff permanently.

“In what is a complex scheme, businesses can receive support to make sure their furlough calculations and claims are correct.

“With many firms facing the prospect of redundancies, Paul provided a very useful insight into the redundancy process and some of the different options which businesses could consider to mitigate redundancies.”

James also addressed the importance of HMRC compliance throughout the pandemic and other tax implications that have arisen as a result of COVID-19.

Attendees were able to ask the speakers a series of questions during the webinar on a ‘live chat’ facility which were answered at the end of the session.

Richard added: “We were pleased to deliver the webinar and hopefully it has given businesses food for thought and useful information and advice around two key areas that are very likely to impact them and their workforce as we ease out of lockdown.”

For more information and to view the webinar in full, please click here

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