Following the announcement of tougher national restrictions in England from Thursday 5 November, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been extended for businesses across the UK.
Instead of ending on 31 October as originally planned, the CJRS will now run until 1 December to cover the period of the new national restrictions. This means that the Job Support Scheme, which was set to replace the CJRS, has been postponed until the CJRS has ended.
Under the extended CJRS, flexible furloughing is permitted aswell as full-time furloughing. The Government will pay 80% of an employee’s current salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500. This level of grant mirrors the level of contribution made by the Government under the Flexible furlough rules in August. Employers are being asked to cover National Insurance and employer pension contributions for the hours the employee does not work.
To be eligible, employees must be on an employer’s PAYE payroll by 30 October 2020. Importantly, neither the employer nor the employee needs to have previously used the CJRS to be eligible for the extension.
We await further guidance from the Government, but in the meantime, if you have any queries please feel free to get in touch by calling 01454 619900.