Chancellor announces further CJRS extension in his address to the House of Commons

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced a further extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) in his address to the House of Commons on 5 November 2020.

The Government had extended the CJRS to December earlier in the week but now it has been confirmed that it will remain open until 31 March 2021. Furloughed employees will receive 80% of their wages for hours not worked, up to £2,500 per month until January 2021. Employers will only have to pay Employer National Insurance (ER NICs) and Pension contributions.

The scheme will then be reviewed in line with the economic circumstances in January to decide whether conditions have improved and if employers should be asked to contribute more. Guidance on February and March will be published after the review.

Employers across the UK, whether open or closed, can claim through CJRS regardless if they have not used it previously. Full guidance on the extension will be published on 10 November but until then HMRC have provided details which apply to any claims made from 1 November to 31 January 2021. You can read those here.

Furthermore, it was announced that those claiming for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will now receive 80% of average trading profits, up to £7,500 – this has been increased from the previously announced 55%. The online portal will be open from 30 November 2020 and you can find further detail here.

Due to the extension of the CJRS, the Job Retention Bonus, which was due to be paid in February, will no longer go ahead with the CJRS running until 31 March 2021. The Government have stated that this will be replaced by a retention incentive at an appropriate time.

You can read the Chancellor’s full statement here.

We will provide further detail on the CJRS extension when it becomes available. For now, if you wish to discuss your circumstances, please get in touch with your usual EQ contact or call one of our offices.