Furlough scheme changes and bonus for employers

The Government has announced further changes and extensions to its Job Retention Scheme as well as a bonus for businesses retaining employees. Chadwick & Company founding Director, Michael Chadwick, summarises the updates and benefits that may affect you. 

In his recent statement, the Chancellor announced that there will now be a one-off payment of £1,000 to all employers that have used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for each furloughed employee who remains continuously employed until 31‌‌‌ ‌January 2021. The purpose of this is to retain people in employment, as well as providing the final support measure to employers. In order to make the claim, the employees will need to:

• Be on the regular payroll system earning at least £520 per month on average for November, December and January
• Have been furloughed by the employer at any point, and legitimately claimed for under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
• Have been continuously employed by you up until at least 31‌‌‌ ‌January 2021.

Employers will be able to claim the bonus from February 2021 once January wages and Real Time Information (RTI) have been submitted and received by HMRC. More information about this scheme will be available in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

Important dates to remember

We would also like to remind you of some key dates that might affect you:

1. Claiming for employees furloughed on or before 30‌‌‌ ‌June Employers need to claim by 31‌‌‌ ‌July for employees furloughed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for periods ending on or before 30‌‌‌ ‌June.

2.  ‌August changes to furlough From 1 August, the furlough payment will not cover employers’ National Insurance (NI) or auto-enrolment pension contributions.

3.  Advanced submissions  From 20 July we are able to submit your August claims in advance, as long as you are certain of your wages figures.

We are here to help

As in previous months, we will be more than happy to calculate and submit claims for you as well as assisting in any further matters. Even if you don’t want us to entirely handle this aspect of your affairs for you, we are happy to deal with any questions or concerns that you might have.

Read more about the Government’s A Plan For Jobs package here. You can also email or call us on 0161 370 9600.