On 11 March 2020, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, delivered the Spring 2020 Budget. There were a number of announcements relevant to employment practitioners including changes to the statutory sick pay (SSP) regime as part of the government's response to the COVID-19 outbreak. As previously announced by the Prime Minister (and as per our last update), SSP will become payable from the first day of sickness absence, rather than the fourth day. The Chancellor also announced that SSP would temporarily be extended to cover individuals who are unable to work because they have been advised to self-isolate, and people caring for those within the same household who display COVID-19 symptoms and have been told to self-isolate. In addition, small and medium-sized employers will be able to claim reimbursement of their SSP costs for the first 14 days' of sickness absence for each employee affected by the virus.

The Chancellor confirmed that the government would deliver on promises in the Conservative Party manifesto to introduce:

Other new measures announced include an increase to the flat rate income tax deduction for homeworking employees to cover additional household expenses, and an extension to the scope of non-taxable counselling services to include related medical treatment, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, when provided to an employee as part of an employer's welfare counselling services.