In light of the increased restrictions needed to curb the coronavirus pandemic, the government have extended the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme (CJRS) that was originally due to end 31st October 2020. CJRS has been extended to 31 March for all parts of the UK.
• From 1st November, the UK Government will pay 80% of employees’ usual wages for the hours not worked, up to a cap of £2,500 per month. The UK Government will review the policy in January. Employers must continue to pay all employers National Insurance and pension contributions. Employers can choose to top up their furloughed employees’ pay beyond the 80% but they are not required to do so.
• Employers and their employees do not need to have used the scheme before to claim for periods from 1 November. Go to GOV.UK for full eligibility criteria.
• HMRC intend to publish details of employers who use the scheme for claim periods from December, and employees will be able to find out if their employer has claimed for them under the scheme.
• There are now monthly deadlines for claims. Claims for period on or after 1st November must be submitted within 14 calendar days after the month they relate to, unless this falls on a weekend in which case the deadline is the next weekday. Claims for periods up to 31 October will not be accepted after 30 November.
• You can claim for employees who were on your payroll on 30th October 2020 and included in an RTI submission to HMRC between 20th March and 30th October 2020. If employees were on your payroll and included in an RTI submission on or before 23rd September and were made redundant or stopped working for you, they can also qualify for the scheme if you re-employ them.
• You must agree working hours with your employees you wish to furlough and agree any changes to their employment contact.
• You cannot claim for more employees than you have previously claimed for.
• The Job Retention Bonus will no longer be paid in February 2021 and an alternative retention incentive will be put in place at the appropriate time.
• The launch of the Job Support Scheme due to start 1st November has also been postponed.
For help with your furlough calculations please click here for the Job Retention Scheme Calculator.
Employers will need to keep the records that support the amount of CJRS grant they claim, in case HMRC need to check it. Employers and authorised agents can view, print or download copies of previously submitted claims by logging onto their CJRS service on GOV.UK.
