Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 September 2020 to Question 85040, what statutory provisions are in place on the calculation of (a) statutory redundancy pay and (b) pay reductions under Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme furlough agreements.
Answered by Paul Scully
The provisions relating to calculation of redundancy and notice pay under the Employment Rights Act continue to apply when an individual is on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Employees who are dismissed due to redundancy and who satisfy certain qualifying conditions are statutorily entitled to a lump sum from their employer, based on their age, length of service and contractual weekly earnings, subject to a statutory upper limit, payable at, or soon after, the dismissal date.
The Government wants to ensure that employees do not lose out on their employment rights because they have been furloughed. We therefore introduced legislation on 31 July, which ensures that statutory redundancy pay and statutory notice pay and unfair dismissal compensation are based on an employee’s normal pay, rather than their furlough pay (potentially 80% of their normal wage).
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2020 to Question 85040 on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, what the piece of legislation is that is referred to in the Answer that will provide statutory protection against the calculation of statutory redundancy pay being based on reduced pay in a furlough agreement under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The legislation that I was referring to in my answer of 9 September 2020 to Question 85040 is The Employment Rights Act 1996 (Coronavirus, Calculation of a Week’s Pay) Regulations 2020.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has issued guidance on the implications for the calculation of statutory redundancy pay of being placed on reduced pay in a furlough agreement under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and then made redundant; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
Any employee who is dismissed due to redundancy and who satisfies certain qualifying conditions has a statutory entitlement to a lump sum from their employer, based on their age, length of service and contractual weekly earnings, subject to a statutory upper limit, payable at, or soon after, the dismissal date.
The Government introduced new legislation which commenced on 31 July to ensure that furloughed employees who are subsequently made redundant receive statutory redundancy pay based on the employee’s normal pay, rather than their furlough pay (potentially 80% of their normal wage). The Government issued guidance on these changes which can be found on the Acas website at: https://www.acas.org.uk/manage-staff-redundancies/work-out-redundancy-pay.
The Government has always urged employers to do the right thing and not seek to disadvantage furloughed employees who are facing redundancy. We are aware that most companies will do this and we have now underpinned these expectations with additional statutory protections.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what monitoring the Government undertakes to assess whether funding from the (a) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and (b) Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been provided to firms based outside of the UK.
Answered by Paul Scully
In order to be eligible for finance under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), a small or medium sized enterprise (SME) must have the core of its business operations based in the UK. An SME which is foreign-owned is in principle eligible to apply for CBILS, provided it is trading in the UK (not just selling into the UK) and uses the CBILS facility to support its business activity in the UK. The same is true for an SME which has UK ownership but is registered abroad.
For firms to be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), they must have a UK bank account and UK payroll. However, HMRC will continue to monitor claim data, compare against records and review reports of any fraudulent or misleading claims. HMRC will not hesitate to take action against those found to be abusing or misleading the scheme.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring (a) retailer advertising and (b) influencer marketing on buy now pay later products to include identification of risks to consumers.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) make it a criminal offence for traders to give consumers misleading information. Under the CPRs, traders must provide consumers with the information necessary to make informed decisions and not omit or hide material information which the average consumer needs.
Last year, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced new rules to address harms in the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) market, saving consumers around £40-60 million a year.
The new rules aim to reduce the overall cost of credit for consumers by banning firms from charging backdated interest on repaid sums and requiring firms to provide better information to consumers about BNPL offers, including associated risks. Firms must also give prompts to consumers, to remind them when the offer period is about to end, so that consumers are more likely to repay the credit before they incur interest.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2020 to Question 70388 on Companies: Coronavirus, what steps the Government plans to take to monitor whether companies borrowing through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme are (a) engaged in trading activity in the UK at the Initial Drawdown Date and (b) using that finance facility to support their trading activity in the UK.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme (CLBILS) guidance makes it clear that the British Business Bank is not responsible for monitoring or verifying the use of any money advanced by accredited lenders to borrowers.
It is the lenders responsibility to ensure that CLBILS facilities comply with the CLBILS eligibility criteria, which include (amongst others):
If the facility was not eligible at the offer date then the lender would not be able to claim against the guarantee. The British Business Bank retains the rights to request information from accredited lenders in order to verify whether a facility was eligible on the offer date.
Lenders undergo a review to test a sample of CLBILS facilities to ensure that processes are being followed in accordance with the agreement.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people categorised as clinically extremely vulnerable during the covid-19 outbreak have continued working in their place of work during the outbreak; and what steps he is taking to support that group of people in the workplace.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government made clear that vulnerable people who are at increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus (COVID-19) need to be particularly stringent in following social distancing measures. Members of staff who are vulnerable or extremely vulnerable, as well as individuals whom they live with, should be supported by their employers as they follow the required social distancing and shielding measures.
It is critical that employers offer safe workplaces. The Government has published guidance to help ensure workplaces are as safe as possible during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These guides cover a range of working environments and are available at www.gov.uk/workingsafely.
This guidance does not replace health and safety or equalities legislation, it provides information to employers on how best to meet these responsibilities in the context of COVID-19.
Employees have a legal duty to make sure the workplace is safe for their employees; this includes reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities and those who are clinically vulnerable.
The safer workplaces guidance provides some suggestions to help employers make their workplaces COVID-19 secure for their employees, visitors and customers.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether car washes are permitted to operate during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Paul Scully
The guidance on working safely during COVID-19 is aimed at working environments, not whether a specific business can reopen.
The guidance is designed to help employers, workers and the self-employed understand how to work safely, including what employers need to think about to adapt a workplace to manage risk in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
We know that every organisation is different. Whether hand or automatic car washes, employers can use the guidance to create specific plans for their business in consultation with those who are affected by their operations, including workers and contractors. Plans will depend on the nature of your business, such as the sector, and the details of your workforce and operations.
Whether a business must remain closed varies according to which part of the UK you are operating in. For England the rules are set out on the gov.uk website. The website also includes links to information for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what process has been undertaken to consult civil society, including women and equality rights organisations in relation to the effect of covid-19 outbreak on the operation of the Equality Act.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
All the legislative protections against discrimination provided by the Equality Act 2010, including those relating to sex and to pregnancy and maternity as protected characteristics, continue to apply during the covid-19 outbreak period, and the scope of the Act remains unchanged.
The Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), the helpline for anyone who believes that they have been discriminated against in the provision of goods, services and public functions, remains open and can provide free bespoke advice and in-depth support, as can Acas (0800 464 0979) in relation to employment discrimination issues.
The EASS can be contacted via its website - www.equalityadvisoryservice.com, by telephone on 0808 800 0082, or by text phone on 0808 800 0084. The EASS may contact a service provider on a customer’s behalf to discuss the scope for meeting the customer’s concern; it also liaises with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has powers to enforce the provisions of the Act.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many pieces of correspondence he has received from MPs on behalf of constituents on matters relating to covid-19 on each date since the outbreak began; and how many responses he has provided to that correspondence in each category of response.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Between 23 March and 18 May 2020, the Department received 3,261 pieces of COVID-19 related correspondence from MPs on behalf of constituents. Of these 3,261, we have responded to 1,827, closed 125 for which a response was not required, and transferred an additional 244 to other Government Departments.