09 Nov COVID 19 Update: Furlough scheme extended
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) – also known as the Furlough Scheme – will now remain open until the end of March 2020.
The government will cover 80% of the employee’s current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500, for claim periods running to 31 January 2021.
Employees that were employed and on the payroll on 23 September 2020 who were made redundant or stopped working for their employer afterwards can be re-employed and claimed for. The employer must have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC from 20 March 2020 to 23 September 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for those employees.
Similarly, an employee who was on a fixed term contract, on payroll on 23 September, and that contract expired after 23 September can be re-employed and claimed for, provided that the other eligibility criteria are met.
It should be noted though that the scheme will be reviewed in January 2021 so, depending on the situation with the pandemic at that point, it is possible that they will scale back support as they did previously asking employers to contribute more.
JOB RETENTION BONUS
It was also confirmed that the Job Retention Bonus will no longer be paid in February 2021, as CJRS will be available at that time. They have announced that an alternative retention incentive will be put in place at the appropriate time.
SELF-EMPLOYMENT INCOME SUPPORT SCHEME (SEISS) GRANT EXTENSION
The support under the SEISS has been increased to 80% of trading profits for the whole of the November to January grant period, up to a maximum of £7,500.
Full details on eligibility and how to claim will be published by HMRC on www.gov.uk in the week commencing 23 November 2020.
A further grant will cover the period February to April 2021 and details on this, including the level of the grant, will be released in due course. We would expect this to be in conjunction with the review of the CJRS in January 2021.
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