Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme extended to October

The Chancellor has announced today, Tuesday 12 May 2020, that the job retention scheme (JRS) will be extended until the end of October.  There will however be flexibility with employers required to pay a % element of wages  from August as employees return to work part-time.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

All UK businesses are eligible.

You will need to:

• designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers,’ and notify your employees of this change – changing the status of employees remains subject to existing employment law and, depending on the employment contract, may be subject to negotiation (see definition of furlough below)
• submit information to HMRC about the employees that have been furloughed and their earnings through a new online portal (HMRC will set out further details on the information required)

An employee furlough is a mandatory suspension from work without pay. It can be as brief or as long as the employer wants. Furloughs can take place in both public and private institutions. An organization will furlough employees as a cost-saving measure when it doesn’t want to lay off staff but lacks the resources to continue paying them.

If you need to contact HMRC about the job retention scheme, the best way to do this is via Webchat: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/ask-hmrc/webchat/job-retention-scheme

For further details about the extension of JRS to October, please refer to: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-extends-furlough-scheme-until-october