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What’s new in Belgium on the employment front, Part 2 – rolling out the biking allowance

In the first part of our mini blog series we discussed the training plan you are required to introduce for your employees in Belgium before 31 March. In this second blog, we will zoom in on the biking allowance which was introduced recently. Although we are not quite at the level of the Dutch (the … Continue Reading

New EAT employee status decision fails to make a virtue out of necessity (UK)

There is a long-established legal principle that you can only imply an employment relationship in the face of a contract saying something different if it is necessary to do so, i.e. if the found facts of the relationship are not consistent with any other explanation, in particular, worker status or genuine self-employment.  Until the Court … Continue Reading

WEBINAR August 12: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: What Are the Complexities to Navigate for Your Organization and the Future of Abortion Protections in the US?

Register for this event The Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision reversing long-standing precedent protecting abortion rights has created complexities for employers and other organizations across the US. As we continue to watch the impact of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision unfold, please join our team of lawyers in a conversation highlighting where we are now … Continue Reading

National minimum wage enforcement – six traps to avoid (UK)

Just before Christmas, somewhat lost perhaps amidst the Plan B vs the did-he, didn’t-he Christmas Party merry-go-round, the government released the latest list of employers being “named and shamed” for failing to pay the minimum wage. As you may recall, although the naming and shaming scheme has been around since 2011, it was paused in … Continue Reading

Check, please – the bill for the CJRS arrives (UK)

Lovely people, the HMRC – completely above criticism in all respects, I have always thought. Just wanted to put that out there in a way obviously wholly unrelated to this week’s news that the Revenue has launched over 12,800 “probes” into misuses of Coronavirus support schemes. The majority of these relate to the CJRS furlough … Continue Reading

US Federal Labor Viewpoints – Week of March 29, 2021

From our Capital Thinking blog, our public policy colleague Stacy Swanson shares the latest federal employment law developments in in the legislative and executive branches during the week of March 29. *** This is a weekly post spotlighting labor topics in focus by the US legislative and executive branches during the previous week. In this issue, … Continue Reading

American Rescue Plan Tax Credits for Employers Who Voluntarily Provide FFCRA Leave – Supplement

This is a Supplement to our post on March 25, 2021 regarding Section 9641 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “ARPA”). This Supplement addresses state and local governmental employers. Section 9641 of the Rescue Plan makes available tax credits to offset the costs borne by certain employers who voluntarily provide emergency paid … Continue Reading

American Rescue Plan Tax Credits for Employers Who Voluntarily Provide Paid Sick Leave and Paid Family and Medical Leave (US)

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “Rescue Plan”).[1] This post reviews Section 9641 of the Rescue Plan, which makes available tax credits to certain employers who voluntarily provide paid time sick leave and family and medical act leave to employees for absences occasioned by the … Continue Reading

Stimulus Bill Extends the Availability of Student Loan Forgiveness (US)

Section 2206 of the CARES Act allowed an exclusion of up to $5,250 from an employee’s gross income, if an employer paid principal or interest on an employee’s “Qualified Education Loan”. Section 2206 of the CARES Act was only designed to be in effect for calendar year 2020. However, The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the … Continue Reading

Qualified Disaster Tax Relief – Retirement Plans and Employee Retention Credits (US)

Besides the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 has also had its share of other disasters, including hurricanes, floods and fires. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “CAA”) has provisions that are designed to provide tax relief for individuals and employers who have been adversely affected by one of the numerous federally declared “Qualified Disasters”. These provisions of … Continue Reading

Stimulus Bill Extends the Availability of Employee Retention Credits (US)

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “CAA”) extends through June 30, 2021, the Employee Retention Credit provisions of Section 2301 of the CARES Act. It also favorably modifies the rules for claiming the Employee Retention Credits. These changes are generally effective as of January 1, 2021. These provisions of the CAA are found in Sections … Continue Reading

Stimulus Bill Extends Tax Credits for Paid Coronavirus Leave, But Not FFCRA Paid Leave Framework Itself (US)

On Monday, December 21, Congress unveiled the nearly 5,600-page text of the latest COVID-19 relief package. If signed into law by the President, the omnibus spending and stimulus relief package will provide direct cash payments to many adults in the U.S., extend unemployment benefits, reopen the Paycheck Protection Program, and provide wide-ranging rental and educational … Continue Reading

IRS Guidance on the Payroll Tax Executive Order (US)

On August 8, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Memorandum on Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations in Light of the Ongoing COVID-19 Disaster” (the “Order”). The Order directs the Secretary of the Treasury to permit deferral of employee Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (“OASDI”) taxes for payroll dates on and after September 1, … Continue Reading

Post-lockdown working, Part 5 – doing your homework (UK)

The logical extension from the discovery that all or most or your staff can work from home without anything catastrophic happening is to ask yourself whether you actually need an office in the first place.  Obviously it has potential advantages in terms of staff cohesion and corporate identity, but decisions are being made across the … Continue Reading

IRS Guidance Provides Employers with the Ability to Offer a Second Open Enrollment Period for the 2020 Plan Year and Provides Greater Flexibility for Making Mid-Year Cafeteria Plan Elections (US)

Providing much needed assistance to employees’ who were blindsided by COVID-19 and who were incapable of making health care coverage elections with COVID-19 in mind, the IRS on May 12, 2020, provided temporary relief that allows employers, during 2020, to expand the permissible reasons for employees to make prospective mid-year election changes to their health … Continue Reading

Extension of IR35 to the private sector, Part 17 – the House of Lords takes revenge, eventually (UK)

Trying to find the most depressing part of the new House of Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee report on IR35 is not easy.  There are so many possible candidates, for one thing, and as an insight into the legislative process it is little short of terrifying.  Not even law by twitter like the Job Retention Scheme, … Continue Reading

IRS Publishes Frequently Asked Questions on Payroll Tax Deferral (US)

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides employers a number of economic relief programs, including deferral of employers’ share of quarterly social security tax deposits and forgivable Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans. The IRS recently released a set of frequently asked questions and answers regarding the CARES Act’s deferral of quarterly Social … Continue Reading

IRS Guidance Enables Employers to Immediately Access Tax Credits Under Coronavirus Relief Legislation (US)

Tax credits may be available to employers who are required to pay additional wages to employees under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “FFCRA”).  Specifically, tax credits may be available to employers who are required to pay employees under the Emergency Sick Pay Leave and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave portions of the … Continue Reading

The CARES Act of 2020: Key COVID-19 Relief Provisions Impacting Your Employer-Sponsored Benefit Plans (US)

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, enacted and sent to the President for his signature on March 27, 2020, is bipartisan legislation providing more than US$2 trillion in relief for both companies and families affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It includes a number of provisions designed to … Continue Reading
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