Furlough Scheme Extended Till April 2021

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a further extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until April 2021.

The government has confirmed that they will continue to pay 80% of the salary for hours not worked until the end of April. Therefore, employers will only be required to pay NICs and pensions for furloughed hours, and wages, NICs and pensions for any hours worked. Read more on gov.uk. 

Under the new scheme, the cost for employers of retaining workers will be reduced compared to the previous scheme, that ended on the 31st of October.

Businesses forced to close in England will receive grants worth up to £3,000 per month under the Local Restrictions Support Grant. £1.1bn is being given to Local Authorities, distributed on the basis of £20 per head, for one-off payments to enable them to support businesses more broadly.

What the Government pays: 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500 for the hours not worked by the employee. What employers pay: Hours worked in the normal way, National Insurance Contributions & Pension Contributions. Employers can also choose to top up employee wages above the scheme grant at their own expense if they wish. Employers will not need to contribute to wages for the time an employee spends furloughed. Flexible furloughing will be allowed as well as full-time furloughing. Who's eligible?

• All employers with a UK bank account and UK PAYE schemes can claim the grant.
• Employers small or large, charitable or non-profit, are eligible for the extended Job Retention Scheme, which continues for another month.
• Neither the employer nor the employee needs to have previously used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
• Employees must be on an employer's PAYE payroll by 23:59 30th of October 2020. A Real Time Information (RTI) submission notifying payment for that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before the 30th of October 2020. 
• Employees can be on any type of contract.
• When claiming the CJRS grant for furloughed hours, employers will need to report and claim for a minimum period of 7 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.
• For worked hours, employees will be paid by their employer subject to their employment contract and employers will be responsible for paying the tax and NICs due on those amounts
• Businesses have the flexibility to bring furloughed employees back to work on a part-time basis or furlough them full-time.
• Employers will only be asked to cover National Insurance and employer pension contributions which, for the average claim, accounts for just 5% of total employment costs. Business Grants  Businesses required to close in England due to local or national restrictions will be eligible for the following grants:
• For properties with a rateable value of £15k or under, grants to be £1,334 per month, or £667 per two weeks;
• For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants to be £2,000 per month, or £1,000 per two weeks;For properties with a rateable value of between £15k-£51k grants to be £2,000 per month, or £1,000 per two weeks; For properties with a rateable value of £51k or over grants to be £3,000 per month, or £1,500 per two weeks. What else can businesses get? Up to £3,000 per month under the Local Restrictions Support Grant if their premises is forced to close
• £1,000 for every furloughed employee kept on until at least the end of January
• £1,500 for every out-of-work 16-24-year-old given a ''high quality'' six-month work placement
• £2,000 for every under-25 apprentice taken on until the end of January, or £1,500 for over-25sPayments The extended Job Retention Scheme will operate as the previous scheme did, with businesses being paid upfront to cover wages costs. For the short period when the government need to change the legal terms of the scheme and update the system, businesses will be paid in arrears.