The government recently announced an extension for the Job Retention Scheme (known as JRS or the furlough system) for employers for the period 5th November to 2nd December 2020 with the possibility of extensions beyond that.

The government have not released full details at this stage and they plan to do so in due course although we expect that to happen after the start of the lockdown on the 5th November

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The Furlough scheme

• This extended Job Retention Scheme will operate as the previous scheme did, with businesses being paid upfront to cover wages costs. There will be a short period when we need to change the legal terms of the scheme and update the system and businesses will be paid in arrears for that period.
• The CJRS is being extended until December. The level of the grant will mirror levels available under the CJRS in August, so the government will pay 80% of wages up to a cap of £2,500 and employers will pay employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and pension contributions only for the hours the employee does not work.
• As under the current CJRS, flexible furloughing will be allowed in addition to full-time furloughing.
• To be eligible to be claimed for under this extension, employees must be on an employer’s PAYE payroll by 23:59 30th October 2020. This means a Real Time Information (RTI) submission notifying payment for that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 30th October 2020.
• 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 pay employer NICs and pension contributions.

Business Grants

Businesses required to close in England due to local or national restrictions will be eligible for the following:

• 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 £51k or over grants to be £3,000 per month or £1,500 per two weeks.

As soon as further details are released we will post an update.

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