So far, across the UK, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has helped 1 million employers to furlough 8.4 million jobs. On Friday 29 May 2020 the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, confirmed further guidance for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, also known as the Furlough scheme.
Here are the important key points:
01 July 2020 Flexibility starts
Flexibility is being introduced into the furlough scheme for businesses, as employers will be able to bring back to work furloughed employees on a part-time basis and be furloughed part-time. The employer can decide how that will work for them in terms of the amount of time they want the employee to split between work and furlough.
10 June 2020 Last Date to Place Employees on Furlough
10 June 2020 will be the last day that Employers can place employees on furlough because the scheme closes to new entrants on 30 June 2020. This means that employers will need to place employees on the scheme by 10 June 2020 to ensure they meet the minimum 3 weeks period of furlough. Employers will have until 31 July to make any claims for those employees up to the 30 June 2020.
01 August 2020 Furlough payments start to taper
The CJRS will also start to taper from 80% being paid by the government currently to include the employer paying towards the scheme. June and July shall remain as the scheme currently is, with the government paying 80% of the employees’ wages up to a maximum of £2,500 per month and paying the employers NIC’s and pension contributions.
From 1 August 2020 there are changes to the scheme, the employer will have to pay the employers NIC’s and pension contributions and can no longer claim them from the government through the scheme and the Government will pay up to 80% of salary up to a cap of £2,500 per month.
From 1 September 2020 – The Government will pay up to 70% of salary up to a cap of £2187.50 per month. The employer will pay employer NIC’s and pension contributions along with 10% of wages to make up 80% total up to a cap of £2,500 per month for the employee.
From 1 October 2020 – The Government will pay up to 60% of the monthly salary up to a cap of £1,875, the employer will pay employer NIC’s and pension contributions and 20% of the salary up to 80% total up to a cap of £2,500 per month.
Further guidance on the flexible furlough scheme, and how to calculate hours worked against hours furloughed will be released by the government on 12 June 2020.
Shielding Employees
Those employees who have been shielding up until now in line with government guidance will be able to leave their homes for the first time from 1 June 2020, they are still vulnerable, so should adhere to social distancing guidelines whilst they are out. They may also meet with others who are not from their household, as long as they are sticking to strict social distancing measures.
There may be some vulnerable people who have been shielding in line with government guidance since the start of the lockdown phase who will still not feel comfortable going outside and will remain vulnerable in both terms of their on-going health conditions, but also anxious too.
Temporary Driver relaxation of EU and GB hours
From 23 March 2020, both EU and GB enforcement of hours was relaxed to enable goods to continue to be available by road transport.
The EU relaxation came to an end on 31 May 2020, the GB relaxation in hours continues until 14 June 2020.
Please contact us to plan your return to work and part furlough/working hours with your staff we are here with you every step of the way, providing all the letters you need and helpline support as required to manage these new working arrangements. We are here to help to ensure you have everything you need.
Coronavirus FAQ
The government has produced a list of Frequently Asked Questions which are updated on a regular basis, to access the latest FAQ’s
