Posts Tagged ‘Staff’

Staff loans for would be tenants

Wednesday, February 11th, 2015

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis announced recently government-wide support for a new scheme that will become available to thousands of potential tenants.

The minister said he was determined to “create a bigger, better private rented sector”.

All of Whitehall has now agreed to offer deposit loans to staff looking to take up new tenancies in the private rented sector, following in the footsteps of the Department for Communities and Local Government. This includes the Home Office, Ministry of Defence, Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs and the Department of Health.

More help for tenants

The scheme, which works in the same way as a staff season ticket loan, will allow employees to borrow some of their salary upfront in order to pay for rental deposits, which is then repayable from salary payments over up to a year. It is available to be taken up in both the public and private sectors.

The Department for Communities and Local Government last October became the first government department to roll the scheme out to its staff, with ministers pushing other parts of government and the public sector to follow suit. The department is working with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills to increase availability across the private sector.

Brandon Lewis said:

With millions of people across the country renting their home we are determined to create a bigger, better private rented sector that is fair to tenants.

Today’s move will mean thousands of people will be offered a helping hand to rent privately through season ticket style loans from their employers.

I hope to see more employers in the public and private sector joining the scheme in the near future.

The tenancy deposit scheme can be adapted by different employers to suit their needs, but generally employees are offered interest-free loans to pay their deposits when they move into a privately rented home, which are then paid back through their salary over the course of up to a year.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2015 at 12:00 am by Slaters and is filed under Landlords, Personal Tax, Property, Tax relief. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Government publishes guidance on new ‘Fit for Work’ service

Tuesday, February 10th, 2015

The Government has published guidance on its new Fit for Work service, which aims to help tackle the problem of long-term sickness absence.

The service is being introduced to facilitate the return to work of employees who have been off sick for a period of four weeks or more. The new service will enable employers to refer their employees, with the employee’s consent, for an occupational health assessment. Following the assessment, a return to work plan will be created, including recommendations for employers on how to assist the employee with getting back to work.

A benefit in kind tax exemption of up to £500 per year per employee will be available for employer spending on medical treatments recommended by the assessment which help employees to return to work.

The Department for Work and Pensions is advising employers to update their sickness policies to reflect the existence of the new service.

If you would like any help in this area please do get in touch.

Internet link: fit-for-work-employers-guide

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 10th, 2015 at 3:59 pm by Slaters and is filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.