On Saturday night the Prime Minister announced that the furlough scheme (CJRS) would be extended until December. Guidance published by the government has provided the following details:
the start of the Job Support Scheme will now be postponed until the furlough scheme ends
the level of contributions 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 and pension contributions;
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 on 30th October 2020. This means a submission notifying payment for that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 30th October 2020. However, neither the employer nor the employee needs to have previously used the CJRS.
How we can help
Further guidance is still awaited but contact the employment team for further advice on how to utilise the scheme and to discuss the agreements which should be put in place, particularly where JSS discussions or agreements have taken place.