The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, also known as the Furlough scheme, has now been extended until the end of September 2021.
Employees will continue to receive 80% of their current salary for hours not worked. There will be no employer contributions beyond National Insurance contributions (NICs) and pensions required in April, May and June. From July, the government will introduce an employer contribution towards the cost of unworked hours of 10% in July, 20% in August and 20% in September.
You can find out more about the scheme here
Redundancy and Furlough
Employees can still be made redundant during furlough, but no part of the furlough grant can go towards paying redundancy pay itself. Previous government guidance suggested that employers could continue to claim the furlough grant for a furloughed employee who was serving statutory (or possibly contractual) notice. However, the most recent guidance on 13 November updates the position:
- For notice days before 1 December 2020 a furlough claim may be made towards statutory notice pay. There is no guidance on contractual notice.
- For notice days on or after 1 December 2020 an employer cannot make a furlough claim if the employee was serving contractual or statutory notice. This includes people under notice of redundancy or if they have resigned.
For claim periods starting on or after 1 December 2020 employers will have to budget for redundancy payments when implementing redundancies but should budget for full notice payments too.
On 26 January 2021 the Government will be publishing a list of employer names who have claimed via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for periods from December 2020 onwards. From February 2021, they will publish the names, an indication of the value of claims and Company Registration Numbers (for those who have one) of employers who make Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claims for periods starting on or after 1 December 2020. They will not publish details of employers claiming through the scheme if they can show that publicising these would result in a serious risk of violence or intimidation to individuals, or those living with them. Find out more and complete the online application form click here.
You will need to keep any records that support the amount of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grant you claim, in case HMRC needs to check them.
