Impact assessment

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

Published 13 October 2022

Project objectives

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was a temporary scheme designed to protect the UK economy by helping employers whose operations were affected by coronavirus to retain their employees. It was first announced on 20 March 2020, and initially applied from 1 March to 31 May 2020, with the possibility of extension.

The scheme was first extended to 30 June, and then again from 1 July to 31 October 2020. In response to further changes in the pandemic situation, it was then further extended successively to December 2020, March 2021, April 2021 and 30 September 2021, when it closed. The introduction of flexible furlough from July 2020 recognised that different businesses faced different impacts from coronavirus.

Any entity with a UK payroll could claim, including businesses, charities, recruitment agencies, and public authorities, so long as they met the conditions of the scheme. All qualifying employees that were placed on furlough could be claimed for as long as they had been reported to HMRC before the initial deadline of 28 February 2020, later updated to 19 March 2020, 30 October 2020 and 2 March 2021 under successive extensions to the scheme.

This screening equality impact assessment relates to the operational delivery of the above noted policy.

Customer groups affected

Employers whose operations were affected by coronavirus.

What customers needed to do

What customers needed to do as a result of the change

Employers needed to access a stand-alone digital service with government gateway credentials or call one of HMRC’s contact centres to complete application (manual process).

How customers accessed this service

Employers needed to access the service via the internet or by phone to confirm their eligibility.

When customers needed to do this

Employers needed to do this from when the scheme went live on 20 April 2020 until its closure on 30 September 2021. Monthly deadlines for claims were introduced from December 2020 for pay periods in November. The last deadline for claiming was 14 October 2021.

Assessing the impact

Before the scheme started, we assessed the equality impacts on all the protected characteristic groups in line with the Equality Act and Public Sector Equality Duty and section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act:

• racial groups
• sex
• gender reassignment
• sexual orientation
• pregnancy and maternity
• marriage and civil partnership
• people with dependents and those without
• political opinion (for Northern Ireland only)

There is no evidence to suggest any specific impacts on those customers within any of the protected characteristic groups (listed above).

The following equality impacts were identified:

Disabled and not disabled

Impact on customers

Employers and agents will claim on behalf of the employee. Consideration should be given to customers who use screen readers to access digital content. Consideration should be given to potential accessibility issues for customers within this protected characteristic group.

Mitigation provided

HMRC provides additional assistance for customers who are deaf or hearing impaired, blind or partially sighted. Digital content can also be provided in a variety of formats, including hard copy, on request. Formats available include: braille, audio, large print. There is also a zoom facility to increase and reduce font sizes within online content. Government Digital Service (GDS) assess and sign-off aspects of HMRC’s digital design to ensure that it meets accessibility requirements such as for the use of screen reader users. All GOV.UK content adheres to national and internationals standards such as World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). HMRC offers extra support services which can be accessed by those customers who cannot, for whatever reason, interact with HMRC digitally or who need additional support and reassurance.

Age

Impact on customers

Customer insight suggests some potential differences in digital access among customers in different age groups.

Mitigation provided

HMRC offers extra support services which can be accessed by those customers who cannot, for whatever reason, interact with HMRC digitally or who need additional support and reassurance. Channel shift strategies are considering the impact of age on digital capability so that access to alternative services is maintained for those customers who choose not to interact digitally.

Religion or belief

Impact on customers

The intrinsic values of some religions, such as Judaism (Sabbath) and Islam (Ramadan) limit the times of day or week when customers in this group can interact with HMRC Services.

Some religious groups, such as the Plymouth Brethren, follow rules related to computer use that may affect access to digital services.

Mitigation provided

Digital provision offered choice to individuals in this group to self-serve outside of traditional business hours to suit their needs.

Employers and agents claimed on behalf of the employee.

People who use different languages (including Welsh language and British Sign Language)

Impact on customers

The population consists of a diverse range of people who use different languages, including Welsh language and British Sign Language. Communication in English may not always be suitable for this group.

Mitigation provided

Existing forms and any new forms or articles (such as guidance) created for the CJRS were made available in both English and Welsh and published on GOV.UK. These could also be requested in alternative formats for accessibility.

We were unable to deliver the CJRS as a complete digital service in Welsh language, however manual claims could be processed in Welsh. For those customers who first language is not English, alternative arrangements could be made for friends and family to interpret or speak on their behalf.

HMRC is working with Groups such as the Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD) to co-develop support material for people who do not use English as a first language (including British Sign Language) to explain how to communicate with HMRC using digital services.

Opportunities to promote equalities

We considered opportunities to promote equalities and good relations between people in each of the protected characteristic groups and those outside of that group.

The following opportunities were identified:

Extra Support Team services to provide support, engagement and build confidence for customers interacting with HMRC of different age groups and digital awareness.

A full equality impact assessment is not recommended.