Updated 05/11/2020 2.01pm
The Furlough Scheme was introduced in March to prevent national redundancies in wake of the coronavirus pandemic and has seen over 9 million employments make use of the scheme.
The support has been extended in line with the new nationwide lockdown that will begin on 5 November 2020.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will remain open until 31 March 2021, with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500.
It was due to be replaced by the Job Support Scheme (JSS) from 1 November 2020, but as the new lockdown brings with it the closure of pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops, it has been extended to December. The JSS has been postponed until the furlough scheme ends.
The key difference in the enhanced scheme is that the state will now pay the full 80%, requiring the employer to only cover pension and national insurance contributions.
Who is eligible?
- All employers with a UK bank account and PAYE schemes can claim the grant. Neither the employer nor the employee needs to have previously used the CJRS.
- The government expects that publicly funded organisations will not use the scheme, as has already been the case for CJRS. Partially publicly funded organisations may be eligible where private revenues have been affected.
- Employers can furlough employees whether they are full-time, part-time, agency, flexible or on zero-hour contracts, however they must have been on the payroll by 23:59 30 October 2020.
- Employers can claim the grant for the hours their employees are not working, calculated by reference to their usual hours worked in a claim period.
- When claiming the CJRS grant for furloughed hours, employers will need to report and claim for a minimum period of seven consecutive calendar days.
- Employers will need to report hours worked and the usual hours an employee would be expected to work in a claim period.
- As with the current CJRS, employers are still able to choose to top up employee wages above the scheme grant at their own expense if they wish.
For more information, please visit the Gov.uk website here.
Source: Gov.uk
Useful Links
- To find out more about how you can apply for help to pay wages through the job retention scheme, click here
- To find out more about applying for the Job Support Scheme, click here
- To find out what financial support your business can access, click here
- For the latest coronavirus business support, visit our Hub here.
- For weekly updates, support and resources just for businesses, sign up to our Coronavirus Business Support Newsletter here.
- Check how many cases there are in your area here.