December Job Retention Scheme update

We are pleased to confirm we are now ready to submit applications for December’s Job Retention or Furlough scheme. HMRC require December claims to be submitted by the 14 January 2021, so if you want to make a claim, it is vital that you send our Payroll Department full details before then.

In December and January claims can be made for 80% of an employee’s usual salary, in respect of hours not worked. As previously this will be capped at a base figure of £2,500 per month.

Never claimed furlough before?

Businesses which have never previously claimed furlough support are free to claim under the recently extended scheme. Similarly, employees need not have previously been furloughed to benefit under the scheme. However, employees must have been employed and be on their employer’s PAYE payroll as of 30 October 2020.

Employees made redundant after the 23 September may be re-employed and included in the Furlough Scheme. However, if you have an employee who is serving contractual or statutory notice, you are unable to make a furlough claim for this employee from the 1 December.

As previously, employers are able to bring workers back, part time and still claim furlough payments for the hours not worked.

Furlough scheme deadline

It is important to note that HMRC require December furlough claims to be submitted by the 14 January. Consequently, is vital for all clients to ensure that our payroll department has full details, including hours worked / not worked, as soon as possible.

This is especially important this month as our office will be closed from Friday 18 December 2020 until Monday 4 January 2021. Although some members of staff may be in the office until Christmas Eve, we cannot guarantee that these staff will be trained or qualified to process the furlough claims.

The December submission is the first time that HMRC will publish company names and registration numbers, as well as a broad indication of the claim value. The aim of this is to create a more transparent system and reduce the number of fraudulent or incorrect claims being made.

Furlough and festive bank holidays

If a worker would usually have had the Christmas and New Year’s bank holidays as annual leave, there are now two options:

1. The bank holiday is taken as annual leave

If the employer and the worker agree that the bank holiday can be taken as annual leave while on furlough, the employer must pay the correct holiday pay for the worker. Employers may also require workers to take the bank holiday as annual leave so long as they give the correct notice period.

2. The bank holiday is deferred

If the employer and the worker agree that the bank holiday will not be taken as annual leave at that time, the worker must still receive the benefit of a day’s annual leave. This holiday can be deferred until a later date, but the worker should still receive their full holiday entitlement.

If you have any queries on the extended Furlough Scheme or any other Government support packages, please let our Payroll Team or your Accounts Manager know and we will be happy to assist. You can also reply directly to james.chadwick@chadwickandco.co.uk

If you want to find out more about our work and the other services we offer, you can read more here. You can also email or call us on 0161 370 9600.