Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme extended until December

Update: Since this article was published the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced a further extension to the CJRS until 31 March 2021. You can read more here.

The Government announced late on Saturday 31 October 2020 that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will be extended until December.

The CJRS extension will be open to employers across the UK, even if they haven’t claimed CJRS before, and will mirror August CJRS terms. This means the Government will pay 80% of wages (up to £2,500) with employers required to pay the Employer National Insurance (ER NICs) and pension contributions for the hours the employee is on furlough.

As with the current CJRS, flexible furloughing will still be permitted and employers are still able to choose to top up employee wages above the scheme grant at their own expense if they wish.

The CJRS Extension will pay the upfront costs to cover employee wages as before but there will be a short period when businesses will be paid in arrears while the Treasury change the legal terms of the scheme and update the system. There will be no gap in eligibility for support between the previously announced end date and the extension. You can read more about the extension terms here.

To be eligible for the CJRS extension, employees must have been on the employer’s payroll at 23.59 on 30 October 2020 with an RTI submission made by that date. However, employees who were on the payroll on 23 September 2020 that have since stopped working for the employer or have been made redundant after that date, can also qualify for the scheme if their employer re-employs them.

All claims must be submitted by 30 November, you will not be able to claim after that date. Once a claim has been checked by HMRC, the claim will be paid within six working days. You can read more about the claims process here.

Due to the CJRS extension, the previously announced Job Support Scheme that was due to begin on 1 November has been postponed until after the extension.

If you are looking for support or advice on what the extension means for you, please speak to your usual EQ contact or get in touch with our payroll team on info@eqaccounting.co.uk or call 01382 312140.