COVID-19 support – Dentists’ non-NHS work

20 May 2020

HMRC have confirmed that overall as long as they meet the criteria for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), dentists can claim on the basis that they have income from non-NHS work. 

  • NHS England has put out clear guidance that dentists will be fully remunerated for the NHS work they would have otherwise undertaken during the outbreak, subject to some basic requirements.
  • As regards non-NHS activity, the Government has set out a range of UK-wide measures which will support private income for dentists. If they meet the criteria, private dentists who are self-employed could be eligible for the SEISS and those who are employees and receive a salary through a PAYE scheme could be eligible for the CJRS.
  • The SEISS eligibility criteria does include that the dental practitioner has been adversely affected by COVID-19. If part of the dental practitioner’s income stream reduces, but another part remains the same, it is still legitimate for them to claim the SEISS. Dental practitioners will receive the full grant based on 100% of their trading profits, even if only 50% of their profits have fallen. If the NHS continues funding the dentists for their work, it would still be legitimate to claim the SEISS if the rest of their trading profits were adversely affected.