Chancellor announces extension of Furlough Scheme.

As England entered a second Coronavirus lockdown yesterday, Rishi Sunak announced that the Government has decided to extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The scheme which was previously extended by one month to 2 December 2020 will now be in place until 31 March 2021. Claims made between November 2020 and March 2021 will also be more generous for employers than it was in October.

What you need to know

CJRS

• Between 1 November 2020 and 31 March 2021, the government will pay 80% of wage costs for eligible employees for the hours not worked, up to £2,500. (This will be reviewed in January 2021 and so the figures may change)
• Employers pay all National Insurance and Pension Contributions, although there is flexibility to decide whether employees work part-time on flexi-furlough or whether to furlough full-time.
• The scheme operates in the same way as previously and claims can be made from 11 November 2020. Claims for November must be submitted no later than 14 December. Subsequent claims should be submitted by day 14 of the following months.

SEISS

• The next self-employment income support grant will also increase from 55% to 80% of average profits – up to £7,500 from November 2020 through to January 2021
• HMRC will pay this grant sooner than planned and the window for claiming will open on 30 November 2020 (two weeks earlier than previously stated)
• A further grant is expected to follow covering February to April 2021 and we look forward to bringing you these announcements as they are made

JSS and JRB

As a result of the extension of the CJRS, the Job Support Schemes and the Job Retention Bonus have been postponed.

For all the detail on the announcements please access the factsheet in this link.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/932977/ECONOMIC_SUPPORT_FACTSHEET_5_November.pdf

We will keep you updated with all the latest government announcements – if you would like to join our mailing list, sign up here

If you would like to speak to someone regarding any of these measures and to see how we can help you, please get in touch with your usual contact at Rayner Essex or fill out the form below and we will get back to you.