PJA Members Covid-19 Update 3
This is the third of our regular updates, where our aim is to keep you all as informed as we possibly can during this difficult period.
General Covid-19 Updates
Government Covid 19 Public Advice: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public
Government Covid 19 Travel Advice: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/travel-advice-novel-coronavirus
Government Advice for Employers, Employees and Businesses: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19
NHS Volunteer Responders Required: https://www.goodsamapp.org/NHS
Government Lockdown Guidance
On Monday 23rd March the Government announced a ‘stay at home’ order, effective immediately, in order to protect the NHS and save lives.
These measures are:
1. Requiring people to stay at home, except for very limited purposes
2. Closing non-essential shops and community spaces
3. Stopping all gatherings of more than two people in public
Everyone must comply with these new measures. The relevant authorities, including the police, will be given the powers to enforce them – including through fines and dispersing gatherings.
You should only leave the house for one of four reasons
● Shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible
● One form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle – alone or with members of your household
● Any medical need, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person
● Travelling to and from work, but only where this absolutely cannot be done from home.
These four reasons are exceptions – even when doing these activities, you should be minimising time spent outside of the home and ensuring you are 2 metres apart from anyone outside of your household.
The full guidance, which we sent out last night, is attached to this update.
Government Announces Support for Self-Employed Workers
Yesterday evening the Government announced the Self-employment Income Support Scheme
Full details are below and available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-thecoronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme
This scheme will allow you to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of your trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for the next 3 months, which may be extended if needed. HMRC will contact you if you are eligible. It is clear that many jockeys will fall outside this scheme due to:
• Declared profits exceeding £50,000
• Not having filed a tax return yet
• Being paid in dividends
Our very clear advice is that you must contact your accountant or bookkeeper ASAP to confirm whether or not you will be eligible.
Who can apply
You can apply if you’re a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership and you:
• have submitted your Income Tax Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19
• traded in the tax year 2019-20
• are trading when you apply, or would be except for COVID-19
• intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020-21
• have lost trading/partnership trading profits due to COVID-19
Your self-employed trading profits must also be less than £50,000 and more than half of your income come from self-employment. This is determined by at least one of the following conditions being true:
• having trading profits/partnership trading profits in 2018-19 of less than £50,000 and these profits constitute more than half of your total taxable income
• having average trading profits in 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 of less than £50,000 and these profits constitute more than half of your average taxable income in the same period.
If you started trading between 2016-19, HMRC will only use those years for which you filed a Self Assessment tax return.
If you have not submitted your Income Tax Self-Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19, you must do this by 23 April 2020.
HMRC will use data on 2018-19 returns already submitted to identify those eligible and will risk assess any late returns filed before the 23 April 2020 deadline in the usual way.
How much you’ll get
You’ll get a taxable grant which will be 80% of the average profits from the tax years (where applicable):
2016 to 2017
2017 to 2018
2018 to 2019
To work out the average HMRC will add together the total trading profit for the 3 tax years (where applicable) then divide by 3 (where applicable), and use this to calculate a monthly amount.
It will be up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for 3 months.
HMRC will pay the grant directly into your bank account, in one instalment. How to apply You cannot apply for this scheme yet. HMRC will contact you if you are eligible for the scheme and invite you to apply online. Individuals do not need to contact HMRC now and doing so will only delay the urgent work being undertaken to introduce the scheme.
You will access this scheme only through GOV.UK. If someone texts, calls or emails claiming to be from HMRC, saying that you can claim financial help or are owed a tax refund, and asks you to click on a link or to give information such as your name, credit card or bank details, it is a scam.
After you’ve applied
Once HMRC has received your claim and you are eligible for the grant, we will contact you to tell you how much you will get and the payment details.
If you claim tax credits, you’ll need to include the grant in your claim as income.
Questions and Answers / Additional Information
Mental Wellbeing
These are very testing and stressful times for everyone, and if you are struggling emotionally this is common. The important thing you need to know is that you’re not alone and support is available. One of our greatest strengths is the ability to ask for help so don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and we will do our best to use the support we have on hand to get you back on track. You can do so confident in the knowledge that any issues you have will be dealt with in the strictest confidence.
We understand that you might not want to talk to someone you know or you might need some additional support even after opening up to a friend, partner or colleague. It is for this reason the PJA works with Sporting Chance to provide a 24/7 helpline and national support network.
• The PJA’s primary mental wellbeing contacts are Paul Struthers and Izzy Desailly, so feel free to contact them or any other member of the PJA team. All calls will be treated in strictest confidence. They will organise for one of Sporting Chance’s trained counsellors to call you and set you up with the individual support you need.
• Alternatively, you can call the helpline directly. The number is 07780 008877 and this is manned 24hrs a day. From 9.00am to 5.00pm it will be answered by Sporting Chance and outside of those hours the service is provided by Health Assured, where you will be able to speak with a counsellor directly.
• If a support plan is recommended, the PJA will fund the initial six sessions as part of your PJA membership.
We will look to include some hints and tips for maintaining mental wellbeing in future updates.
• Can I still ride out?
Yes, but it is vital that you follow the Government’s guidance. Make sure that you only travel to work with other people from your household – do not share lifts, and ensure that you follow social distancing protocols (2m apart from other people) and wash your hands for 20 seconds with regularity.
If you have concerns about other members of staff not adhering to this guidance please speak with your employer immediately to rectify the situation.
• Where are you with plans to support jockeys financially?
Whilst the Government’s announcement yesterday was very welcome, it also complicated things significantly in terms of our planning. What is clear is that there still remains a short-term need that the sport needs to address quickly, and there will be individuals who need assistance who fall outside the Government’s support schemes. Paul is revisiting his support paper and is mounting a strong case for additional support for jockeys.
Plans for the use of PJA funds are also being finalised and hopefully will be announced next week. In the meantime, jockeys in immediate financial need should contact the IJF (details below).
• Reminder on Sick Pay / Universal credit
The chancellor has announced that the “self-employed can now access in full universal credit at a rate equivalent to statutory sick pay for employees”. In general, when it comes to working out which benefits you are eligible for and how much you might get, the same rules usually apply whether you work for an employer or are self-employed, according to the benefits advisory group Turn2Us. Your earnings from self-employment will count as income when working out what benefits might be available to you. Turn2Us also offer a useful benefits calculator.
Further information is available at https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/coronavirus/
Please note the system is overwhelmed with applications and there is a 5 week wait before applying and accepted claims being paid.
• Tax
The Chancellor said he will be deferring the next round of self-assessment payments on account (originally scheduled for 31 July 2020), to January 2021. Most self-employed earn below the threshold for registering for VAT, which stands at £85,000. However, for those jockeys who are VAT registered the chancellor said he will be deferring VAT for the next quarter.
Those jockeys, valets and agents with accountants should speak to them about these assistance measures.
• Other employment during shut down
It’s possible to be employed and self-employed at the same time. This could apply to you if, for example, you work for an employer part time and run your own business part time. You pay tax and National Insurance contributions on your employment and self-employment income in different ways. We would advise you to ask an accountant or tax adviser for clarification but it is unlikely that any such initiative would affect your entitlement to other means of Industry support.
To help meet the industry’s staffing needs throughout the ongoing crisis, the careersinracing.com job board, which is operated by the BHA will continue to provide an essential service for employers and those looking for work in the racing industry.
• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
There is a very handy and informative Q&A on the website of the NTF about this scheme, which will allow employers to place staff on a period of “paid leave” and claim 80% of their salary back from the Government.
https://ntfmuse.wordpress.com/2020/03/24/furlough-faq-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme/
• Other useful information
Gov.UK has announced a 6 month exemption from MOTs; however, it will not come into effect until March 30th, meaning vehicles due a test before next Monday must still take it. Garages will remain open for essential repair work, as safety for all road users is of paramount importance.
From 30 March 2020, car, van & motorcycle owners will have a temporary exemption from #MOT testing to ensure..
— Dept for Transport #StayHomeSaveLives (@transportgovuk) March 25, 2020
✅ Vital services continue
✅ People can carry on with essential travel
✅ People can buy food & medicine
Find out more 👉https://t.co/FJ7DQUS0UZ #coronavirus #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/VDjqU4Hmat
• Up to date accountancy and legal information can be found at
www.opusaccounting.co.uk
www.ashfords/covid19
Please continue to keep your eye on these two excellent websites which offer easy to read information:
www.moneysavingexpert.com Twitter @MartinSLewis
www.citizensadvice.org.uk
• Viral Messages
There are a number of viral messages offering ‘advice’ about Covid 19 circulating at present. Please ignore these and do not share them, and instead follow Government and World Health Organisation advice. • Phone Scams Unfortunately, there are numerous ongoing scams pretending to be from large companies pretending to offer you a rebate or reduction to a direct debit. Ignore any calls, emails or texts you may receive that ask you for personal information or bank details and do not click on links sent to you by unknown numbers. If a purported company, such as your bank, mobile phone provider or television subscription service contacts you hang up and call them back on their published numbers.
• And finally for a light hearted read Lester Piggott Q&A: the 11-time champion jockey stars in a brilliant interview: https://www.racingpost.com/news/rp-classics/lester-piggott-qa-the-11-time-champion-jockey-starsin-a-brilliant-interview/430087
Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or if we can help in any way, and warmest wishes to you and your families.
The PJA Team – Ann, Dale, Izzy, Nigel, Paul and Vicky
Useful Contacts
Paul Struthers – 07966 590105/01264 730770, ps@thepja.co.uk
Dale Gibson – 07970 149415, dg@thepja.co.uk
Izzy Desailly – 07771 656396, id@thepja.co.uk
Vicky Lee – 01635 778108/ 07585 633400, vl@thepja.co.uk
Aodhagan Conlon, Performance Mindset Consultant – 07815 016900
Sporting Chance 24/7 Helpline – 07780 008877
Lisa Delany, JETS – 07919 417462, lisa@jets-uk.org
Phil Kinsella, JETS – 07970 673351, Phil@jets-uk.org
Oaksey House, Lambourn: 01488 674242
Jack Berry House, Malton: 01653 602090
Peter O’Sullevan House, Newmarket: 01638 662246
Nutrition Team Numbers:
Julia Scott Douglass (East/Midlands) 07768 996296
Dan Martin (North/LJMU) 07902 151916
Hannah Trotman (South) 07772 508999
Oliver Whiteman (Newmarket) 07534 080829