Holiday pay and pay in lieu of notice disregarded in calculation of rate relief for claimants made redundant due to Covid-19

Apply before 4 April 2021

On 4 January 2021, the Rate Relief (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations (NI) 2020 (“2020 Regulations”) came into force.

The Regulations were passed in response to the high level of redundancies made as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic from March 2020.

The Regulations provide that when assessing earned income for the purpose of calculating rate relief, holiday pay for holidays not taken because of redundancy and payment in lieu of notice should be disregarded.

If you made a claim for rate relief on or after 28 March 2020 and your decision did not disregard holiday pay and payment in lieu of notice, you can apply for a revision. You must do so before 4 April 2021.

For further information on this matter, please contact Law Centre NI”s helpline on 028 90244401.

We”re taking action‚Ķ

At Law Centre NI, we have identified problems with the rate relief scheme which, unfortunately, are not addressed by the 2020 Regulations. This year, our legal team lodged two applications for judicial review to challenge the Rate Relief Regulations (NI) 2017.

The problem with the current scheme is that a claimant”s entitlement to rate relief is based on their first Universal Credit assessment period. If they suffer a drop in income during the following 12 months, their entitlement to rate relief is not revised. This means they could end up paying more than they can afford.

If you know of such a case and you would like further advice and assistance, please contact our legal team on 028 90244401.