The furlough scheme, which was meant to end in March, has been extended until the end of April 2021 with the government continuing to contribute 80% towards wages – giving businesses and employees across the UK certainty into the New Year.
In a move to ensure firms can access the support they need through continuing economic disruption, rishi Sunak also confirmed he would be extending the government-guaranteed Covid-19 loan schemes until the end of March.
These changes come ahead of the budget, which the chancellor had confirmed will take place on 3 March 2021. This will deliver the next phase of the plan to tackle the virus and protect jobs, so the extensions to the business loan and furlough schemes enable businesses to plan with certainty and access support in the first few months of the new year.
The Chancellor said he would review the employer contribution element of the CJRS in January, but decided to bring this forward to allow businesses to plan ahead for the remainder of the winter and the New Year.
The government will continue to pay 80% of the salary of employees for hours not worked until the end of April. Employers will only be required to pay wages, National Insurance Contributions (NICS) and pensions for hours worked; and NICS and pensions for hours not worked.
Who Can Claim?
You must have:
- created and started a PAYE payroll scheme on or before 30 October 2020
- enrolled for PAYE online
- a UK, Isle of Man or Channel Island bank account
Any entity with a UK payroll can apply, including businesses, charities, recruitment agencies and public authorities.
You can only claim for furloughed employees that were employed and on payroll on 30 October 2020. This means you must have made a PAYE RTI submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee. This may differ where you have made employees redundant, or they stopped working for you on or after 23 September 2020 and you have subsequently re-employed them.
To further check which employees you can put on furlough, click here.
If you would like to discuss any of the above information, or if you require any assistance with your payroll services, contact us on accounts@nrbarton.co.uk or call us on 01942 242 245.
