June 2020

On 29 May 2020, the Chancellor announced the following:

• From 1 July 2020, furloughed employees will be able to return to work on a part-time basis. Employers will pay in full for days worked and can claim under the CJRS for days not worked, subject to the relevant caps.
• From 1 August 2020, employers will be required to contribute towards the costs of furloughing employees.
• From 1 September 2020, Employers will also be required to pay 10% of employees’ pay, capped at £312.50. The government will pay 70% of employees’ pay, capped at £2,187.50.
• From 1 October 2020, Employers will be required to pay 20% of employees’ pay, capped at £625. The government will pay 60% of employees’ pay, capped at £1,875.

Dont forget, only employees who have been furloughed for a continuous 3 week period before 30^th June can be furloughed/part furloughed after 1^st July 2020, UNLESS they have been on statutory family leave or a military reservist on a period of mobilisation.

To do:-

1. Employers and employees will need a new signed agreement if the old one had an end date or you will be having them work some of their time (ask your advisor for one)
2. The ‘3 week’ minimum furlough will no longer exist, therefore you can consider rotating your furloughed employees or increasing/decreasing the work they carry out throughout this period (with their agreement)

Note – Employees do not have to be given some work, they can remain on full furlough subject to business needs.

After the announcements at the end of May 2020,  lobbyists have been successful in bringing about the following amendments which were agreed on the 9^th June:

1. There will be no minimum furlough period from 1 July 2020. However, any furlough arrangement agreed between employer and employee reported in a claim to HMRC must still cover a period of at least a week

1. From 1 July 2020 employers can only claim from the CJRS in respect of employees who were furloughed on or before 10 June 2020, with the exception of those who are returning to work following a long period ofstatutory family leave.

Talk to your Advisor if you have any queries.

1^st June 2020

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Key Dates

On the 29^th May Rishi Sunak gave an announcement on the changes to the CJRS (Furlough Scheme).

Key dates

July 1^st until the 31^st August

From the 1^st July you may bring employees back off furlough and place them on whatever hours you need them for.  The employer will be responsible for 100% of the employees’ wages for the hours they work but you may claim back 80% of the furloughed hours via the CJRS.

To implement this, you will need:

1. to confirm the working hours/patterns to your employees in writing.  The minimum period you must do this for is one week although you may confirm the pattern/hours in writing for longer periods.
2. To submit data on the normal hours the employee would be expected o work in the claim period and the hours they actually work in line with the temporary written agreement.

You may continue to use the scheme in its current form for those you do not have work for or who remain unable to return to work.

Detail of tapering and employer contributions:

June and July

The current scheme will exist with the additional flexibility allowing employers to bring employees back part-time.  Employers will be responsible for paying employees for hours worked if they come back part time as detailed above but can claim 80% of the unworked hours.

August

Both the above will still exist but instead of the scheme paying the employers National Insurance and Pension Contributions, this responsibility will pass back to employers.

September

• The CJRS will drop to 70% contribution (£2,187.50 cap) for the hours the employee does not work.
• The employer is required to pay employers National Insurance and Pension Contributions.
• The employer is required to top up 10% of the wage of non-worked hours (up to the cap of £2,500)
• and if working part-time, remains responsible for payment of 100% of pay for worked hours.

October

As above but…

• The CJRS will drop to 60% contribution (£1875 cap) for the hours the employee does not work.
• The employer is required to top up 20% of the wage of non-worked hours (up to the cap of £2,500)

Employer Allowance:

If you are a smaller employer some or all of your NICS bills are covered under Employer Allowance.  Please visit the HMRC website to assess your company’s eligibility.

DEADLINES and LAST ENTRANTS TO THE SCHEME

THE CJRS Scheme closes to new entrants on the 30^th June.  You may only claim from the scheme after this date for employees who have been furloughed for a full three-week period prior to 30^th

June meaning that 10^th June would be the last date for any new furlough entrants to enter the scheme.

Deadline

Employers will have until 31^st July to make claims for the period to 30^th June.

Webinars giving guidance on calculating claim back via the flexible scheme will be published on gov.uk on their ‘Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’ pages.

This information is accurate at the time of publish. Please speak to your Accountant for any HMRC and payroll queries. Please contact your Elcons Advisor for any HR issues with your employees 01422 822842