The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been a significant part of my workload over the past few months, with the ‘furlough scheme’ becoming an ever-more important lifeline for struggling organisations over the course of the Covid pandemic.
Together with accountants and payroll providers across the country I listened to the reports, read the updates, diligently working through what it all means so that we could support our payroll clients and anyone else who needed our help. And that we did, providing a range of support including regular updates on the scheme (there were lots of changes in the early days….), templates for furlough agreements, support to make claims to HMRC as well as providing tailored advice for those organisations that didn’t have any HR support.
But with the furlough scheme due to end back in October, and a replacement Job Support Scheme (JSS) due to begin in November (and then promptly being cancelled again), Job Retention Bonus (JRB) planned for January 21, its all got a little confusing…
Let’s take a look at what’s actually happening on the job support front
- Furlough scheme extended – At the end of October, the Chancellor announced that the existing furlough scheme would be extended beyond October until 2 December – with the JSS taking over after this date.
- Furlough scheme extended until March 2021 – On 5 November, however, the Government announced that it would be extending the furlough scheme until March 2021, and that the scheme would now cover 80% of an employee’s wages – as per the initial version of the furlough scheme.
- JSS and JRB both cancelled – As a result of this extension of the furlough scheme, both the JSS and the JRB have been effectively cancelled – ending months of speculation around how they would work, and whether they offered enough support.
Key points of the extended scheme
It’s been a bumpy ride for the furlough scheme, but the scheme has lived to fight another day – and will probably be an ongoing area of support for many.
With this in mind, I’ve highlighted the main points of the newly extended furlough scheme so you can prepare for the extension – and the cancellation of the JSS and JBR that you may have been banking on.
Key points to be aware of:
- Funding will be made at 80% of the employees wage, capped at £2,500 per month.
- The 80% funding is guaranteed until January 2021, when the scheme will be reviewed.
- Organisations can continue to claim under the extended scheme if you are already making use of the original scheme.
- Organisations can also claim if they haven’t used the furlough scheme before – new claims are allowed as long as the business meets the criteria.
- Employees can be ‘flexibly furloughed’, meaning that the your staff can be part-working and part-furloughed, to add some flexibility to their resourcing.
- Previously, employees must have been included on a Real Time Information (RTI) return submitted on or before 19 March 2020. This cut-off date has now been extended to 30 October, so more of the client’s existing staff may be eligible for the scheme.
If you need support with your payroll, or just a friendly ear please give me a call. I'm always happy to help.
If you are interested in our payroll service, please email payroll@salfordcvs.co.uk and either Sam, Klaudia or myself will be happy to provide the information.