Furlough claims can now be submitted for November

Employers can now submit claims for furloughed staff from today (Wednesday 11 November) for periods from 1 ‌November.

Furlough, also known as The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), has been extended until the end of March 2021 with employees receiving 80% of their current salary for hours not worked (up to £2,500 per month).

The launch of the Job Support Scheme (JSS) that was due to be available from 1 November has been postponed due to the extension of the CJRS scheme.

There are currently no employer contribution to wages for hours not worked. Employers will only be asked to cover National Insurance and employer pension contributions for hours not worked. For an average claim, this accounts for just 5% of total employment costs or £70 per employee per month.

The CJRS extension will be reviewed in January to examine whether the “economic circumstances are improving enough” for employers to be asked to increase contributions.

Employers can claim for employees who were not previously on the scheme, as can employers who did not previously use it earlier this year. However employees need to have been on the PAYE payroll on 30 October to be eligible. The employer must have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee.

Deadlines for claims have been shortened to the middle of the following month, instead of the end of the following month. Claims for periods starting on/after 1 November must be submitted within 14 calendar days after the month they relate to, unless this falls on a weekend in which case the deadline is the next weekday.

Due to the extension of furlough, the Job Retention Bonus scheme – to encourage employers to keep employees once the job support scheme has ended, has been postponed for now. The bonus, worth £1,000 was meant to be paid in February but has currently been shelved. Further details are to be published in coming months.

HMRC intends to publish details of employers who use the scheme for claim periods from December, and employees will be able to find out if their employer has claimed for them under the scheme.

Employers will have flexibility to use the scheme for employees for any amount of time or shift pattern, furloughing employees on either a full-time or part-time basis, and will be able to vary the hours worked in agreement with the employee.

Employees can be furloughed where they are unable to work because they:

• are shielding in line with public health guidance (or need to stay at home with someone who is shielding)
• have caring responsibilities resulting from coronavirus, including employees that need to look after children

Employees can:

• take part in training
• volunteer for another employer or organisation
• work for another employer (if contractually allowed)

For further information, please visit:

• www.gov.uk/government/publications/extension-to-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme